A man in his 20s who slashed another man’s throat with a blade at a Limerick addiction treatment facility six years ago has been found not guilty by reason of insanity after a two-day trial, reports Breaking News.
Sean Beumer (29), of Edenmore Crescent, Raheny, Dublin 5, admitted cutting Aaron Babbington’s throat using a makeshift knife fashioned from a razor blade attached to a plastic handle.
The jury in the case was not told that Mr Babbington is currently serving an eight-year prison term for attempted murder, after admitting in April to slashing a man’s throat with a broken vodka bottle in Cork in 2023, reports Breaking News.
Mr Babbington admitted attempting to murder Jason Butler of Midleton, Co Cork, on June 14th, 2023, at Grand Parade in Cork City. Mr Butler died at Cork University Hospital two days after the unprovoked throat-slashing attack by Mr Babbington.
Represented by senior counsel Lorcan Connolly, instructed by Tony Collier Solicitors, Mr Beumer entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity to charges of assault causing harm and producing a bladed weapon during the incident, reports Breaking News.
A jury of seven men and five women returned unanimous verdicts at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court on Thursday, finding Mr Beumer not guilty by reason of insanity.
Consultant psychiatrist Dr Ivan Murray told the court that Mr Beumer was undergoing a “psychotic” episode during the attack, brought on by his failure to receive prescribed anti-psychotic medication, reports Breaking News.
The assault occurred in the early hours of December 13th, 2019, in the smoking area of the Cuan Mhuire addiction centre in Bruree, Co Limerick, where both Mr Beumer and Mr Babbington were enrolled in a residential alcohol detox programme.
Mr Babbington, aged in his 30s and from Churchfield, Co Cork, sustained three cuts to his throat and an additional wound to his thumb. He received stitches at University Hospital Limerick.
The court heard that Mr Beumer had been admitted to the centre on November 29th, 2019, with a known diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. However, neither the GP who assessed him for suitability nor the centre itself had been made aware of his mental health condition, reports Breaking News.
While at Cuan Mhuire, Mr Beumer had asked for medication, but he did not receive any. In line with the centre’s detox policy at the time, all participants’ non-medical prescriptions were stopped.
After his arrest, Mr Beumer told gardaà that he had been experiencing increasingly intense psychotic thoughts and voices, and that he eventually “exploded” and used a razor blade to cut Mr Babbington’s throat, reports Breaking News.
Mr Beumer told investigating officers that hallucinations had “brainwashed” him into mistakenly believing that he and his family would be killed if he did not carry out the act.
There was no CCTV evidence capturing the assault, and no indication that Mr Babbington had provoked the incident.
Dr Ivan Murray, who carried out an independent mental health evaluation of Mr Beumer, gave undisputed evidence that there was a “definite link” between the absence of anti-psychotic medication and the attack on Mr Babbington, reports Breaking News.
Dr Murray said that in his expert view, Mr Beumer met the legal standards required for an insanity plea. He added that Mr Beumer had been “unable to refrain from his actions” and that his psychosis had “overwhelmed his decision-making” during the event.
Responding to a question from prosecution barrister Lily Buckley, Dr Murray agreed that Mr Beumer’s schizophrenia diagnosis should have been disclosed to Cuan Mhuire before his entry into the detox programme, reports Breaking News.
He further recommended that Mr Beumer’s treatment plan should involve a “multi-disciplinary” approach and suggested an MRI scan to rule out a rare but possible “lesion” on the brain contributing to his condition.
Judge Colin Daly was told that Mr Beumer continues to show symptoms of schizophrenia, even though he is currently taking anti-psychotic drugs.
The judge ordered that a new medical report be submitted to the court after Mr Beumer undergoes further psychiatric assessment at the Central Mental Hospital, to be completed within 14 days, reports Breaking News.
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