A Brooklyn man accused of killing his father in a luxury hotel in Ireland has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
Henry McGowan, 30, was charged with a single count of murder in the death of 66-year-old John McGowan in a rural area of the Irish Midlands in late 2024.
Father and son arrived at the Ballyfin Demesne, a five-star country house hotel in County Laois, shortly after 6 p.m. on Nov. 12, 2024.
The elder McGowan — who had arrived in Dublin earlier that day over concerns about his son’s mental health — was found dead in the hotel’s wellness area a few hours later.
Henry McGowan was arrested on a murder charge and reportedly told investigators he strangled his father with his bare hands.
Ballyfin Demesne, an exclusive luxury hotel in Ballyfin, County Laois. (Google)
On Monday, he entered his plea in the Central Criminal Court in Ireland, the criminal division of the High Court in Dublin, as six men and six women were sworn in to sit on the trial.
The trial, which centers on whether Henry McGowan was criminally responsible for killing his father — not on whether he killed him — got underway Tuesday and is expected to last through the week, the Irish Times reported.
Jurors were told that two consultant psychiatrists will testify he was suffering from a psychiatric illness at the time of the killing.
Henry McGowan reportedly explained to Gardaí, or the Irish police, how he strangled his father to death, public broadcaster RTÉ reported.
He said he had “counted to 49” while choking his father, but he continued breathing. The son then held his hands for another 20 seconds before eventually suffocating the victim.
“I killed him, I strangled him, I told him I would always love him no matter what as he had his last breath,” he told Gardaí.
Henry McGowan, whose address was listed as Clinton Street, Brooklyn, was traveling throughout Europe at the time. His father, fearing Henry had stopped taking his mental health medication, traveled to Dublin to help his son.
After the two met, they filed the prescription at a local pharmacy and took a cab to the exclusive Ballyfin Demesne.
The high-end resort spanning 614 acres at the foot of the Slieve Bloom Mountains is known for welcoming A-list celebrities, including former power couple Kim Kardashian and Ye for their 2016 honeymoon, and George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin for a “secret romantic Easter break” in 2019.