A consultant psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital has contradicted the diagnosis of two psychiatrists called by the defence that a father accused of the murder of his 20-month-old son was schizophrenic.
Two consultant psychiatrists, Dr Andrew Washington Burke, based in St George's Hospital, London, and the former clinical director of St Vincent's Hospital, Fairview, Dr Brian McCaffrey, told the trial of Mr Yusif Ali Abdi he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the killing.
But yesterday, Dr Damien Mohan, consultant forensic psychiatrist at the Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum, told prosecuting counsel Mr Michael Durack that in his opinion, Mr Ali Abdi was not legally insane when he killed his son Nathan.
Mr Yusif Ali Abdi (30), a refugee from Somalia, with an address at The Elms, College Road, Clane, Co Kildare, has pleaded not guilty to a charge of the murder of his 20-month-old son, Nathan Baraka Andrew Ali, in his apartment at College Road, Clane, on April 17th, 2001.
Dr Mohan was called by the prosecution to rebut defence evidence that the accused man was "like a man possessed", acting on the command of a voice inside his head, when he took his son from bed, brought him to another room, locked the door and, holding him by his feet, swung his head against a wall three times.
Dr Mohan is to be cross-examined today.