Man with no history of violence strangled fiancee to death in psychotic episode, Central Criminal Court hears

A well-educated man with no history of violence, criminality, mental illness or drug use strangled his fiancee to death during a psychotic episode, a psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.

Consultant psychiatrist Prof Patricia Casey said that during six interviews she carried out with the accused man, Andrei Dobra, he was “courteous, polite, gentle and respectful”. She said he deeply regretted killing his fiancee Ioana Mihaela Pacala (30), was in shock and struggled to remember or understand his own actions.

Having looked into Mr Dobra’s background, Prof Casey said she found no history of engagement with mental health services or the legal system. He had lived a “very stable, normal life” she said and there was “nothing in his past to indicate a history of violence or criminality”.

Prof Casey described Mr Dobra as well-educated – he achieved two university degrees in Romania before coming to Ireland in 2015 “to better himself”. He found work as an administrator at Cappagh Hospital and as a security guard in Temple Bar, jobs that enabled him and Ms Pacala to buy a house together. The evidence Prof Casey gleaned from those who knew the couple was that they were “very committed to one another, they were very much in love and ideally suited to one another.” Her family had “no concerns about any aspect of their relationship,” Prof Casey said.

They had planned to marry on June 10th, 2023, and had already picked out a restaurant, band and church. Mr Dobra (36), with an address at Riverwalk Court, Fairyhouse Road in Ratoath, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to murdering his partner Ioana Mihaela Pacala in the home they shared on November 12th, 2022.

Prof Casey, who was called by the defence, told Mr Dobra’s barrister Michael Bowman SC that she spoke to Mr Dobra six times since the killing. He told her that in the months leading up to it, he had become stressed and anxious about work and about his ability to pay for his new home. He took time off work and went to a GP for help some days before the killing.

He began to suffer “fleeting thoughts” or “partial delusions” that Ms Pacala’s family were trying to prevent them from marrying and that they would sell his home and take the money. He also became concerned about “some kind of spirit in the house” and thought about getting a priest in for a blessing. He was having difficulty sleeping and complained of hearing noises in the night, she said.

He had further delusions that Ms Pacala wanted him to die and he had become suspicious about her giving him tablets that had been prescribed by his GP for hypertension. In the hours before the killing, friends and family who spoke to Mr Dobra and Ms Pacala described him as appearing extremely unwell and sweating heavily.

During one meeting in which he displayed psychotic symptoms, he told Prof Casey there was a “demon in the house that used me”. At a later meeting he said he could remember “feeling like a monster” that he couldn’t control on the day of the killing. A feeling of being out of control is common for people suffering from psychosis, Prof Casey said.

Prof Casey diagnosed Mr Dobra with schizoaffective psychosis. At the time of the killing, she said, he believed his life was in danger and he therefore did not know that what he was doing was wrong. Prof Casey concluded that Mr Dobra meets the threshold under the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006 for a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Brenda Wright told Carl Hanahoe BL, for the prosecution, that her view is Mr Dobra was experiencing a major depressive episode with psychotic symptoms at the time of the killing. She said that while there were challenges in assessing his mental state due to his amnesia regarding events around the killing, it is highly probable that he was acting under the delusional belief that his life was in danger. Dr Wright said he believed his actions were morally justified by the need to defend himself and he did not understand that what he was doing was wrong.

Dr Wright said Mr Dobra qualifies for a finding of not guilty by reason of insanity.

The trial continues on Monday before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and a jury of six men and six women.