A forensic psychiatrist has described the man accused of the murder of a Detective Garda in Castlerea 2 years ago as displaying abnormal behaviour in the lead up to the fatal shooting.
Stephen Silver of Aughaward, Foxford, Mayo has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Doctor Brenda Wright of the Central Mental Hospital interviewed the 46-year-old over the course of several weeks, two months after the shooting of Colm Horkan in which the accused claimed that he felt he was becoming unwell in the days before the death of Colm Horkan and had been considering checking himself into hospital.
While in Dublin to drop his partner to the airport, the motorbike mechanic claimed he began to become concerned over her intentions towards him, describing the feelings as 'lasting a few minutes and then he'd be grand again'.
He told the doctor that he had been feeling hyper on the night of the 17th of June and had been having 'such a happy day' until 'someone had to get out of a car and attack me.'
During an interview conducted in September 2020, he recalled struggling for the gun, with both men having one hand on the weapon before stating two shots were discharged and Colm Horkan "must have shot himself", leaving the accused with the gun, where in his own words to Doctor Wright said, 'I pointed the gun at him and shot him. It kept going off.' Following the shooting, Dr Wright told the Jury that the accused spoke about how a lack of sleep over the course of his custody had caused him to become delusional and he claimed he grew to believe the entire incident was a test for entry into the Special Forces and that his father and uncle would save him when they arrived with the Cavalry.
Doctor Wright is expected to continue her evidence to the jury tomorrow morning.
