An American man facing trial in Ireland for allegedly killing his millionaire father during a mental health crisis had previously attempted to sacrifice a stranger’s baby during a flight, a jury heard recently.
In a Dublin court, prosecutors shared that Henry McGowan experienced his first recorded psychotic episode while on a flight to Paris in 2022, as reported by the New York Times.
At the time of the alleged incident, McGowan, then 30 years old, has entered a plea of not guilty due to insanity.
The charges against McGowan involve the alleged murder of his father, John, at the luxury Ballyfin Demesne hotel in Laois. Before the incident, he had slipped away from his family and friends in Brooklyn in November 2024, hastily securing a ticket at Newark Airport.
His concerned family alerted authorities, who evaluated him at the airport terminal. Despite their worries, McGowan managed to conceal his symptoms and was cleared to fly.
During the flight, at an altitude of 30,000 feet, McGowan reportedly believed he needed to carry out a ritual sacrifice involving an infant.
He made his way to a couple with their newborn and tried to snatch their baby from a bassinet, according to testimony read in court.
Upon arrival in Paris, McGowan was arrested and spent a month at a psychiatric hospital in the city, noted the outlet.
Prosecutors testified in a Dublin courtroom that Henry McGowan was aboard a flight to Paris in 2022 when he had his first diagnosed psychotic episode, when he allegedly tried to snatch a couple’s newborn for a ritual sacrifice
About two years later he would be accused of murdering his father, John McGowan, who had been a head partner for a brokerage firm that specialized in trading on the New York stock exchange
He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a condition combining symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
After his release, he regained his footing and, in 2023, he followed a treatment plan for his bipolar I diagnosis and was destined to make positive changes.
All hell broke loose less than a year later, in October 2024, when he allegedly relapsed into a manic episode and fled to Europe again.
Though he stayed in touch with his family, a friend met up with McGowan in London and expressed immense concern for his well-being.
The acquaintance called the McGowan family to say that he was ‘roaming the city in a hot pink faux fur jacket and had a wild look in his eyes.’
Without hesitation, his father booked a flight to Dublin on November 11, the next stop on his son’s voyage.
He had planned to corner his son when they connected at the airport, but after McGowan’s plane landed, he was missing, and his phone’s location stopped updating.
John was found unresponsive inside the leisure area of the hotel, seen here, and was later pronounced dead
It was at the exclusive hotel that his father later joined him after flying to Ireland from New York on Monday evening, after worried staff reported him acting erratically
Images taken at parties in the Hamptons show him rubbing shoulders with the likes of award winning architect Ted Flato, seen here second from the left alongside Henry, center
The son called his sister to say he’d thrown away his passport, medication, and phone.
He added that he had run over six miles to be admitted to Mater Misericordiae University Hospital because of his ‘racing thoughts.’
After learning of this, his father rushed to the hospital, but the staff told them there was no available bed.
He booked a luxury hotel for the night and planned to go to the hospital they recommended the next day.
In the meantime, medical helicopter doctor Lisa Cunningham was in touch with John and his family to help navigate the Irish medical system, as they were connected by a mutual friend.
Cunningham, located about 150 miles away from the two, consulted a nearby hospital about McGowan’s alarming behavior.
They deemed him to be in urgent need of admission, and the doctor relayed the information to his family.
His loved ones called John to update him on Cunningham’s new plan – but he was not answering the phone.
His father had jetted across the Atlantic, leaving his $1.9 million home in Canaan, Connecticut, seen here, to help his son
After hours of calling the hotel, police, and John’s phone, they had no idea what was happening.
The family finally reached the police, and an officer said only that ‘there was bad news,’ without providing details.
One of the family members discovered a local Irish news article at 11.30pm, and it read: ‘A man in his 60s has died after he was assaulted in Co Laois.’
‘A man, aged in his 30s, was arrested.’
One of the McGowan daughters shared the link with Cunningham, texting: ‘Henry killed our dad.’
John’s children remember him as ‘warm, down-to-earth, intellectually curious and sometimes goofy.’ The father was a bookworm, loved crossword puzzles, and sports.
In a statement to the Times, the hospital said: ‘The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital’s priority is to be at the frontier of compassion, concern and clinical care for all our patients and their families.’
‘The Mater Hospital cannot comment on individual patient cases for confidentiality reasons.’
