Yusif Ali Abdi committed to hospital after murder acquittal

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

Yusif Ali Abdi was committed to the Central Mental Hospital for inpatient care on 20 December 2019, after a retrial jury found him not guilty of murdering his son by reason of insanity the previous week. Mr Justice Alexander Owens made the order at the Central Criminal Court.

The charge concerned the death of 20-month-old Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, on 17 April 2001. Abdi had pleaded not guilty. The proceedings were reported on 20 December 2019.

At the outset of the retrial, defence counsel Barry White SC admitted on Abdi’s behalf that he had caused his son’s fatal injuries and called 999 requesting an ambulance. Four consultant psychiatrists gave evidence that Abdi was suffering from schizophrenia in 2001 and met the requirements for the special verdict.

A jury had found Abdi guilty of murder by a majority verdict in 2003, rejecting his insanity defence. He spent 16 years in jail before the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction in 2019, after hearing that he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2013.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Ronan Mullaney told the court that Abdi suffered from schizophrenia, had limited insight into his illness and needed inpatient care and treatment in a designated centre. He said his condition would be reviewed by the Mental Health Review Board. The judge said he was satisfied that Abdi was suffering from a mental disorder before making the order.