An Ireland-based Nigerian, Brian Ogbo, has been sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment for killing his 82-year-old grandmother, Stella Nnadi, during what an Irish court described as a severe psychotic episode.
Ogbo, 39, was sentenced by the Cork Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his grandmother at the family residence in Carrigaline, County Cork, on February 23, 2025.
According to reports from the Irish Mirror, the convict had relocated from Nigeria to Ireland in December 2024 to reunite with his mother, Ruby Ogbo, and his grandmother.
The court heard that Ogbo, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017, had missed two monthly anti-psychotic injections after difficulties reportedly arose in accessing mental health care services in Ireland.
Presiding judge, Sinead Behan, reportedly stated that the defendant was clearly undergoing a psychotic breakdown at the time of the incident.
During proceedings, Detective Garda Tom Delaney told the court that Ogbo had behaved erratically for hours before the attack, allegedly damaging parts of the kitchen and consuming all available food in the house.
According to the detective, tensions escalated after his mother confronted him over his behaviour and threatened to seize his phone and disconnect the home’s internet service.
The court heard that Ruby later removed the internet router from the house before leaving, while Ogbo allegedly pursued her with a pair of scissors.
Delaney further stated that the defendant allegedly pushed his mother to the ground and assaulted her before searching for his grandmother, who had locked herself inside a bathroom upstairs.
The court was told that Ogbo eventually forced open the bathroom door, dragged the elderly woman downstairs and forced her outside the building.
Although the victim initially appeared not to require hospital treatment, her condition reportedly worsened two days later.
Medical examinations later revealed bleeding in her brain, and she subsequently died in hospital on February 25, 2025.
A postmortem examination reportedly concluded that she died from blunt force trauma to the head sustained during the attack.
Defence counsel Jane Hyland described the incident as a tragedy for both the victim’s family and the defendant, noting that Ogbo had maintained a close relationship with his grandmother before the incident.
She argued that his mental condition at the time of the offence severely impaired his judgement and behaviour.
The defence also maintained that the defendant could have qualified for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity if the matter had proceeded to full trial.
Judge Behan criticised lapses within Ireland’s mental healthcare system, stating that the tragedy could arguably have been prevented.
She condemned what she described as major failures in psychiatric care and support services, noting that a treatment appointment for Ogbo reportedly arrived two days after the killing.
The court considered his early guilty plea, lack of previous convictions and family support before sentencing him to five years imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended.
The sentence was backdated to February 27, 2025, when Ogbo was first remanded in custody.
The court also directed that he must continue receiving mental health treatment and engage with probation services after his release.
