Man on trial for murdering pensioner in psychiatric unit pleads guilty to manslaughter

A man accused of murdering an elderly patient at Cavan General Hospital has pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Central Criminal Court. Ian Harman, aged fifty, of Carrickallen, Mountain Lodge, Cootehill, changed his plea during trial proceedings regarding the death of Michael Treanor, an eighty-two-year-old man, on June 27th, 2011 at the hospital's psychiatric unit in Lisdarn. The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the manslaughter plea under Section 6 of the Criminal Law Insanity Act, which permits a finding of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan discharged the jury and remanded Harman in custody pending sentencing scheduled for October 6th. The defence had argued Harman was suffering from a mental illness following the abrupt withdrawal of anti-psychotic medication after his admission as a voluntary patient. Medical evidence was presented regarding whether this withdrawal caused a psychiatric condition affecting his culpability for the killing.