A man with a history of mental illness killed his landlord and consumed part of his body two days after he came off his medication under the direction of a psychiatrist in Dublin.
The Central Criminal Court has been told the medical professionals treating Saverio Bellante (36) in his native Italy believed he should remain on the medication for life.
After the dose of his anti-psychotic medication Olanzapine had been gradually lowered when he came to live in Ireland, the medication was stopped on the advice of a consultant psychiatrist on January 9th, 2014.
Two days later he became embroiled in a dispute with his landlord Tom O’Gorman during a game of chess.
Fatally attacked
Mr Bellante fatally attacked the freelance journalist at Mr O’Gorman’s home on Beech Park Avenue, Castleknock, Dublin 15, where he lived as a lodger.
He struck him with a dumb-bell on the head and stabbed him in the head, chest and neck. The accused then cut open the victim’s chest and removed his right lung, which was found in a plastic bag in the kitchen. He believed he had removed the dead man’s heart to eat it “as it was the way to good and evil”.
Mr Bellante was diagnosed with religious hysterical deliria in 2005. He is charged with murdering Mr O’Gorman at an unknown time between January 11th, 2014 and January 12th, 2014 at the Castleknock address. A verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity is open to the jury.
