A New York man with a history of mental illness, who once attempted to harm a stranger’s baby on a flight, has been declared not guilty by reason of insanity in an Irish court for the murder of his wealthy financier father.
Henry McGowan, 31, hailing from Brooklyn, faced trial for the 2024 murder of his 66-year-old father, John McGowan, at an exclusive five-star hotel in Ireland. The elder McGowan had crossed the Atlantic to support his son during a mental health crisis.
According to RTE, the jury reached its decision after hearing testimony from both sides, confirming that McGowan was experiencing a psychotic episode when he violently attacked and strangled his father.
The tragic incident occurred on November 12, 2024. John McGowan, a successful financier, flew to Ireland on what was described as a mercy mission after learning about his son’s mental health relapse while traveling through Europe.
Diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2022, Henry McGowan had recently visited Dublin’s Mater Hospital for medication following an episode where he destroyed his belongings at the airport and then fled to the city on foot.
Upon their reunion, John McGowan, a partner at a prominent New York investment firm, secured accommodations for himself and his son at the luxurious Ballyfin Demesne resort in Laois as they awaited a replacement passport.
The son later stripped down naked and attacked his father in a changing cubicle in the resort’s pool area — leaving him lying in a pool of blood, the court heard.
McGowan, who was found sitting in the hotel’s library in the aftermath, told investigators that God had willed him to strangle his father because he was trying to force him to take his meds.
The son added that he told his dad he’d always love him right before he died.
Multiple psychiatrists testified during the trial that they believed McGowan was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder at the time.
Meanwhile, McGowan’s prior mental history was relayed to jurors during the , including one episode in 2022 where he tried to snatch a stranger’s baby on a flight to Paris so he could attempt to sacrifice the child in order to save the plane.
He was admitted to a mental hospital in the wake of that incident, the court heard.
McGowan, who was flanked by his loved ones in court for the verdict, returned to Dublin’s Central Mental Hospital for treatment. There will be a Feb. 20 hearing at which a judge will rule on his court-ordered treatment plan.
