Murder accused who attacked hospital patient should not have been in general ward, barrister says

Olivia Kelleher

An 88-year-old patient died in hospital after being hit a number of times by a man with a “disturbed mind” who shouldn’t have been in a general ward as he was “hearing voices” and “seeing dead people,” his barrister has told a jury.

Dylan Magee (33) is on trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork, charged with the murder of Matthew Healy on January 22nd, 2023, at the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in the city. The men were in the same hospital ward but were not known to each other.

Mr Magee of Churchfield Green, Churchfield in Cork, was admitted to hospital on January 19th, 2023, because family members were of the belief that he was hallucinating.

Mr Healy had been transferred to the hospital six days earlier after a fall from bed at his home in Berrings, Co Cork. The jury previously heard that the pensioner suffered a cardiac arrest in hospital in the course of the attack on his person.

Closing speeches

In her closing speech to the jury, Ms Justice Siobhan Lankford said that they might take the view that “both Dylan Magee and Matthew Healy were let down by the system.”

However, she called on them to be “dispassionate and logical” in their approach to the evidence. She acknowledged that it was a “very difficult case” and said that they had four verdicts open to them.

The jury can return a verdict of guilty of murder, not guilty of murder, not guilty by reason of insanity and guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Defence barrister, Brendan Grehan, SC, in his closing speech to the jury, said that there was some small solace in the fact that Mr Healy was asleep when he was attacked by Mr Magee and “would have been knocked out straight away.”

He noted that Mr Healy had just buried his wife, whom he had lovingly cared for in the home.

Mr Grehan said that Mr Magee had been “slowly losing contact with reality” in the month before his hospital admission.

“He was medicated for a month before this, and he was self-medicating with tablets and cannabis.”

He said that Mr Magee had been referred to hospital by a doctor. A plan was put in place in terms of his medical case.

Mr Grehan stated that he couldn’t understand why Mr Magee was put in a general ward.

“For reasons I don’t quite understand, and for reasons that seem counterintuitive, Dylan Magee was put in a general ward with elderly patients. He was showing severe mental health symptoms. He was hallucinating. He was hearing voices and seeing dead people.”

Mr Grehan said that at 5am on January 22nd, 2023, the “two worlds effectively collided” with Mr Magee developing a fixation on a man who was not known to him.

“There was no animosity or bad blood. Mr Magee apparently believed that Mr Healy had eaten his child, killed him or kidnapped him.”

Mr Grehan said that there was no rational explanation for the bizarre behaviour of Dylan Magee and that there was “clearly a mental disorder there.”

He said that in his view the jury should return the verdict of not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Mr Grehan said that both the Prosecution and Defence psychiatrists believed that Mr Magee had “diminished capacity” at the time of what he termed the “frenzied attack.”

Meanwhile, Prosecution Senior Counsel, Jane Hyland, said that the killing of Matthew Healy by Dylan Magee had been established.

She said that the question was whether he intended to kill or cause serious injury. Ms Hyland said that both psychiatrists agreed that Mr Magee lacked the intent that is necessary to prove that he intended to kill Matthew Healy or cause serious harm.

Ms Hyland said that the verdict of guilty of murder was off the table for serious consideration.

Ms Hyland said that the jury had heard that Mr Magee was showing symptoms of hallucination, disorientation and confusion in hospital. She stated that Mr Magee had been given sedation in hospital. However, she stated that defence psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks had compared the response to “throwing a cup of water on a fire.”

Ms Hyland said that both psychiatrists were of the opinion that Mr Magee was suffering from delirium and that it was up to the jury to decide if he knew the nature and quality of his act.

She said that if the jury felt that Mr Magee was able to refrain from the act, then he was not entitled to the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

She said that both the prosecution and the defence psychiatrists agreed that, effectively, his responsibility was diminished. She said that in her view they could return one of two verdicts — not guilty by reason of insanity or guilty of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Ms Hyland said that it was a “horrendous case” with a tragic outcome not only for Matthew Healy but for Dylan Magee. She added that both men had come to hospital looking “for assistance.”

The jury of four women and eight men commenced their deliberations at 12:18pm on Thursday.

Mr Magee denies murder but admits manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.