Yusif Ali Abdi found not guilty of infant son's murder by reason of insanity

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

Yusif Ali Abdi was found not guilty by reason of insanity of murdering his infant son after a retrial at the Central Criminal Court on 13 December 2019.

Abdi was charged with murdering 20-month-old Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, on 17 April 2001. He had pleaded not guilty. The proceedings were reported on 13 December 2019.

In 2003, a jury rejected Abdi’s insanity defence and found him guilty of murder by a majority verdict. 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. A retrial was ordered.

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

Dr Damian Mohan, called by the prosecution, said he had testified in 2003 that Abdi did not have paranoid schizophrenia. At the retrial he said he agreed that Abdi had a history of the condition dating back to 1999. He said Abdi knew what he was doing was morally wrong but was unable to refrain from the act.

The jury returned a unanimous verdict after 17 minutes of deliberation. Mr Justice Alexander Owens ordered Abdi’s committal to the Central Mental Hospital for the time being and directed an approved medical officer to prepare a psychiatric assessment. The court was told Abdi would return the following Friday.