Lateef Bello found not guilty of attempted murder by reason of insanity

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Lateef Bello was found not guilty by reason of insanity of attempted murder at the Central Criminal Court. He was also found not guilty by reason of insanity of burglary, criminal damage, endangerment and assault causing harm. The proceedings were reported on 28 January 2015.

Bello pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the attempted murder of Adejoke Opesusi at Littleplace. The three-day trial heard that he believed his wife was having an affair and that Opesusi had convinced her to do so.

The report said Bello returned to his home in Clonee on 19 February 2012 after working as a taxi driver. The jury heard that at 4.30am he began a series of offences culminating in entry to Opesusi’s house. He stabbed her repeatedly with two separate knives and attempted to choke her. Following his arrest and two months at the Central Mental Hospital in Dundrum, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.

The jury returned a unanimous decision after two hours and 51 minutes. Mr Justice Paul McDermott thanked the jurors and exempted them from jury service for five years.