Courts

Security guard who strangled fiancee to death found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity

Andrei Dobra (36) had no history of violence or mental illness before killing Ioana Mihaela Pacala in November, 2022

Andrei Dobra was suffering from a mental illness when he killed his fiancee. Photograph: Colin Keegan / Collins Dublin
Eoin Reynolds
Mon Jul 08 2024 - 16:42

A security guard with no history of violence or mental illness who strangled his fiancee to death during a psychotic episode has been found not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity.

Andrei Dobra (36) had enjoyed a loving and devoted relationship with Ioana Mihaela Pacala and less than 24 hours before killing her, they were captured on CCTV holding hands as they did their weekly shopping. Two consultant psychiatrists agreed that Mr Dobra developed psychotic delusions that caused him to believe Ms Pacala was a threat to him and when he strangled her to death, he did not know that his actions were wrong.

Mr Dobra, with an address at Riverwalk Court, Fairyhouse Road in Ratoath had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering Ms Pacala in the home they shared on November 12th, 2022.

A jury of six men and six women took one hour and 44 minutes to reach their unanimous verdict. Ms Justice Melanie Greally exempted them from further jury duty for five years.

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Ioana Mihaela Pacala was due to be married to Andrei Dobra.

“This case centres on the loss of a very young life that was full of promise,” she told the jury. “So all our sympathies go to her family.”

Ms Justice Greally remanded Mr Dobra to the National Forensic Mental Health Services Hospital in Portrane. He will be assessed by an approved medical officer who will provide a report to the court on July 19th outlining whether Mr Dobra requires continuing treatment for his mental illness.

Before the jury began their deliberations, Sean Guerin SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, told them that Ms Pacala’s death had been an “immense tragedy for her family, friends and everyone who knew her”. He reminded the jury of CCTV evidence showing Mr Dobra and Ms Pacala “holding hands in an affectionate and loving way” while carrying out the mundane business of shopping one day before the killing.

There is some mystery as to how the killing came to pass, Mr Guerin said, but Mr Dobra accepts that he strangled Ms Pacala to death.

There is no suggestion that she threatened him or that there was a fight. The evidence of two psychiatrists called by the defence and prosecution was that Mr Dobra was suffering from a mental disorder at the time. They both came to the conclusion that due to his mental disorder, Mr Dobra had a delusional belief that he was under threat from Ms Pacala and therefore did not know that killing her was wrong.

Defence counsel Michael Bowman SC told the jury that Ms Pacala had lost her life without explanation or justification and not as a result of anything she had done. The evidence the jury heard was of a couple who were devoted to one another and planning their lives together.

“Tragically, mental illness intervened,” counsel said, “and labouring under a mental disorder he took Mihaela’s life.”

Ms Justice Greally told the jury there is no doubt that Mr Dobra’s actions were responsible for his fiancee’s death.

Dr Brenda Wright and Prof Patricia Casey agreed that Mr Dobra held a delusional belief that Ms Pacala posed some threat to him. They found that he therefore did not understand that his actions in killing her were wrong and qualified for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

At Mr Dobra’s trial consultant psychiatrist Prof Casey said that during six interviews she carried out with him, he was “courteous, polite, gentle and respectful”. She said he deeply regretted killing Ms Pacala, was in shock and struggled to remember or understand his own actions. Having looked into Mr Dobra’s background, Prof Casey said she found no history of engagement with mental health services or the legal system.

He had lived a “very stable, normal life” she said and there was “nothing in his past to indicate a history of violence or criminality”. Prof Casey described Mr Dobra as well-educated – he achieved two university degrees in Romania before coming to Ireland “to better himself” in 2015. He found work as an administrator at Cappagh Hospital and as a security guard in Temple Bar, jobs that enabled him and Mihaela to buy a house together.

The evidence Prof Casey gleaned from those who knew the couple was that they were “very committed to one another, they were very much in love and ideally suited to one another”. Her family had “no concerns about any aspect of their relationship”.

In the months leading up to the killing, however, he had become stressed and anxious about work and about his ability to pay for his new home. He took time off work and went to a GP for help. He began to suffer “fleeting thoughts” or “partial delusions” that Mihaela’s family were trying to prevent them from marrying and that they would sell his home and take the money.

He also became concerned about “some kind of spirit in the house” and thought about getting a priest in for a blessing. He was having difficulty sleeping and complained of hearing noises in the night, she said. He had further delusions that Mihaela wanted him to die and he had become suspicious about her giving him tablets that had been prescribed by his GP for hypertension. In the hours before the killing, friends and family who spoke to Mr Dobra and Ms Pacala described him as appearing extremely unwell and sweating heavily.

Prof Casey diagnosed Mr Dobra with schizoaffective psychosis. At the time of the killing, she said, he believed his life was in danger and he therefore did not know that what he was doing was wrong.