Sean Murphy found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity

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

Sean Murphy was found not guilty of murdering Michael Olohan by reason of insanity at the Central Criminal Court on 23 November 2023.

The jury returned its unanimous verdict on Thursday, after considering the case for more than six hours. Murphy had pleaded not guilty to murdering Olohan at their shared apartment on St Lawrence Road, Clontarf, on 13 August 2020.

The jury accepted evidence from prosecution psychiatrist Dr Ronan Mullaney that Murphy’s obsessive compulsive disorder had psychotic features and left him unable to resist the compulsion to kill. Defence expert Professor Keith Rix disagreed, saying Murphy could have resisted and had diminished responsibility.

After the verdict, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring remanded Murphy to the Central Mental Hospital for psychiatric assessment. A psychiatrist was due to report to the court on 6 December on whether further treatment was required.