Post by thales on Dec 19, 2007 9:08:22 GMT -1
Murder suspect quit mental care
By Tom Brady Security Editor
Tuesday December 18 2007
The prime suspect for the savage murder of a young man stabbed to death in a frenzied attack discharged himself from hospital three times while he was undergoing psychiatric treatment.
Gardai and the Health Services Executive (HSE) have begun a major inquiry after it emerged the suspect walked out of the hospitals last week while he was being psychiatrically assessed.
Last night, the 24-year-old suspect was under guard and receiving medical treatment at St James's Hospital in Dublin. The HSE inquiry will seek to establish the circumstances surrounding his earlier discharges from St James's and St Vincent's Hospitals.
It will also focus on the implementation of the new Mental Health Act and the stringent procedures it imposes before a decision is made on the detention of a patient.
However, a leading consultant psychiatrist last night described the brutal killing as "a tragedy waiting to happen".
Stabbed
Gardai were last night waiting to question the suspect about the attack on Michael Hughes (30), who was stabbed dozens of times in the head and throat with a garden shears.
His family were not allowed to look at the body, such was the extent of the injuries that were inflicted.
Mr Hughes, from Banagher, Co Offaly, had intended to stay overnight in his cousin Liam's apartment in Harold's Cross after attending a friend's engagement party in the capital.
But although he had the code to gain entry to the Manor Villas apartments in the early hours of Saturday morning, he could not access the flat.
He was waiting in the corridor when he was savagely assaulted with a shears by a man who was not known to him. Gardai described the attack as "vicious" and said it was impossible to determine how many times Mr Hughes had been stabbed with the shears.
A resident found Mr Hughes's body on the ground and alerted the gardai.
The murder weapon was recovered by gardai and detectives arrested the prime suspect outside the apartment complex.
The suspect told gardai that he had found and killed the devil.
Inquiries into the incident are also expected to examine what reports had been made to the gardai earlier about the suspect's medical health by members of his family following threats he was alleged to have made and what action had been taken as a result.
Psychiatrist Dr Siobhan Barry last night described the death of Michael Hughes as a tragedy waiting to happen.
She told the Irish Independent that, unaware of the current controversy that was unfolding, she and her colleagues yesterday afternoon had been discussing the cavalier way in which psychiatric beds were being eliminated from the hospitals and had decided there would have to be a major event before notice was taken of the problem.
Dangerous
In the meantime, she said, society was becoming more dangerous.
Dr Barry, the public relations officer of the Irish Psychiatric Association, was critical of the failure of the authorities to act on a recommendation issued in a report almost 10 years ago to improve communications within and between hospitals.
As a result of that failure, she pointed out, many of the hospitals were not computerised and were reliant on paper records, which meant that hospitals were often not aware of what had taken place with a patient in other hospitals.
It emerged last night that the prime murder suspect had turned up with members of his family twice at St James's Hospital and once at St Vincent's Hospital in the past week to seek psychiatric treatment.
But on the two occasions at St James's, he discharged himself before all of the medical procedures, necessary under the mental health legislation, had been completed.
It is understood he decided to walk out of St Vincent's as a decision was about to be taken to transfer him to St James', which was closer to his home.
Senior garda officers said last night that detectives would be unable to question the suspect until doctors were satisfied that he was fit to be interviewed.
- Tom Brady Security Editor
By Tom Brady Security Editor
Tuesday December 18 2007
The prime suspect for the savage murder of a young man stabbed to death in a frenzied attack discharged himself from hospital three times while he was undergoing psychiatric treatment.
Gardai and the Health Services Executive (HSE) have begun a major inquiry after it emerged the suspect walked out of the hospitals last week while he was being psychiatrically assessed.
Last night, the 24-year-old suspect was under guard and receiving medical treatment at St James's Hospital in Dublin. The HSE inquiry will seek to establish the circumstances surrounding his earlier discharges from St James's and St Vincent's Hospitals.
It will also focus on the implementation of the new Mental Health Act and the stringent procedures it imposes before a decision is made on the detention of a patient.
However, a leading consultant psychiatrist last night described the brutal killing as "a tragedy waiting to happen".
Stabbed
Gardai were last night waiting to question the suspect about the attack on Michael Hughes (30), who was stabbed dozens of times in the head and throat with a garden shears.
His family were not allowed to look at the body, such was the extent of the injuries that were inflicted.
Mr Hughes, from Banagher, Co Offaly, had intended to stay overnight in his cousin Liam's apartment in Harold's Cross after attending a friend's engagement party in the capital.
But although he had the code to gain entry to the Manor Villas apartments in the early hours of Saturday morning, he could not access the flat.
He was waiting in the corridor when he was savagely assaulted with a shears by a man who was not known to him. Gardai described the attack as "vicious" and said it was impossible to determine how many times Mr Hughes had been stabbed with the shears.
A resident found Mr Hughes's body on the ground and alerted the gardai.
The murder weapon was recovered by gardai and detectives arrested the prime suspect outside the apartment complex.
The suspect told gardai that he had found and killed the devil.
Inquiries into the incident are also expected to examine what reports had been made to the gardai earlier about the suspect's medical health by members of his family following threats he was alleged to have made and what action had been taken as a result.
Psychiatrist Dr Siobhan Barry last night described the death of Michael Hughes as a tragedy waiting to happen.
She told the Irish Independent that, unaware of the current controversy that was unfolding, she and her colleagues yesterday afternoon had been discussing the cavalier way in which psychiatric beds were being eliminated from the hospitals and had decided there would have to be a major event before notice was taken of the problem.
Dangerous
In the meantime, she said, society was becoming more dangerous.
Dr Barry, the public relations officer of the Irish Psychiatric Association, was critical of the failure of the authorities to act on a recommendation issued in a report almost 10 years ago to improve communications within and between hospitals.
As a result of that failure, she pointed out, many of the hospitals were not computerised and were reliant on paper records, which meant that hospitals were often not aware of what had taken place with a patient in other hospitals.
It emerged last night that the prime murder suspect had turned up with members of his family twice at St James's Hospital and once at St Vincent's Hospital in the past week to seek psychiatric treatment.
But on the two occasions at St James's, he discharged himself before all of the medical procedures, necessary under the mental health legislation, had been completed.
It is understood he decided to walk out of St Vincent's as a decision was about to be taken to transfer him to St James', which was closer to his home.
Senior garda officers said last night that detectives would be unable to question the suspect until doctors were satisfied that he was fit to be interviewed.
- Tom Brady Security Editor
