Stephen Silver’s mental capacity was “significantly impaired” at the time he shot dead Garda Colm Horkan with the garda’s own gun, a forensic psychiatrist has told the Central Criminal Court.
Dr Brenda Wright also told the jury in the trial of Mr Silver (46), of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, that the accused recounted mental health difficulties he had experienced over the years, on one occasion believing he was “fighting mohawk Indians in his bedroom”.
Dr Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, gave evidence today on Monday to defence counsel Dominic McGinn SC that she interviewed Mr Silver three times between August and September 2020.
"Having reviewed the information and having met with him and interviewed him on three occasions, my view is that at the time he was mentally unwell and as a consequence his capacity was impaired,” said Dr Wright.
She said that as a consequence of his mental illness, Mr Silver’s capacity was “significantly impaired” at the time of the shooting.
Dr Wright said that when she first met him on August 21st, 2020, which was two months after the shooting of Gda Horkan, Mr Silver engaged well, was calm, and his speech was normal.
She told the jury that Mr Silver said that on one occasion in 2003, he was mentally unwell and believed he was “fighting mohawk Indians in his bedroom” and thought he could shapeshift.
Dr Wright said that Mr Silver was first admitted to hospital in 1998, when he was 22. She said that at that time, Mr Silver thought he was “Jesus reincarnated” and he would “make Ireland a happy place”.
She said he also thought he was receiving subliminal messages from the radio. She said he was treated with antipsychotic medication and was later diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder.
Mental health history
Dr Wright gave evidence of Mr Silver’s mental health history, which included on one occasion the accused reporting that he was hearing voices threatening to harm him. She said he described seeing the figure of the devil and was in an aggressive state.
She said that in September 2001, Mr Silver was again admitted to hospital as he was displaying very bizarre behaviour. She said he had painted his jacket white and was wearing sunglasses at night, and he barricaded himself in his room.
He was prescribed a high dose of an antipsychotic and his diagnosis at that time was that he had experienced a manic episode.
Dr Wright gave further evidence that Mr Silver was again admitted to hospital in October 2003, after being referred by his GP and brought to hospital by the gardaí. She said he had been non-compliant with taking his medication for a week and had been engaging in heavy drinking.
She told the court that on October 29th, 2003, Mr Silver was holding a glass in his hand while threatening to kill the nurses and a member of staff was injured. Mr Silver was given an injection of an antipsychotic and received further high doses until November 3 of that year.
She gave evidence that he was an inpatient in 2003, and he had six to eight further admissions to hospital in the years after that. She said he was admitted to hospital again in 2018, but prior to that for a number of years he was not taking his medication.
“When he becomes unwell, he reaches the severe end of the spectrum with psychotic symptoms,” said Dr Wright.
Mr Silver has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Gda Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on June 17th, 2020.
He has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and the jury have been told the main issue in the trial is Mr Silver’s state of mind at the time of the shooting.
Common interest
The jury also heard from civilian witness Kevin Scahill, a resident of Castlebar, Co Mayo, who gave evidence to Mr McGinn that he has known Mr Silver for 28 years. He said that they have a common interest in motorbikes and are “very straight up with each other”.
He confirmed to Mr McGinn that he was aware of Mr Silver’s difficulties with mental health and said the accused had told him eight or nine years ago that he suffered with mental health difficulties.
He said that he first noticed Mr Silver had these difficulties when the accused opened his new garage, which was around six months to a year before he was admitted to the Central Mental Hospital in the wake of Gda Horkan’s death.
“He texted me and said he was in a bad place, a dark place. He said he wasn’t alright and needed to go to the hospital. I brought him to hospital,” said Mr Scahill.
"He was agitated and fidgety. He couldn’t settle himself. He was twisting and turning and wasn’t himself, it was like he was looking for someone coming towards him.
He could never sit still, he was like a child. I’d never seen that before. I knew then that he wasn’t well. He was admitted to hospital and was there over a week, as far as I know,” said the witness.
Mr Scahill said that when Mr Silver was discharged from hospital, he was “back to himself”.
“He was settled, he wasn’t as jumpy and was more relaxed,” he said.
Mr Scahill described Mr Silver as “a brilliant mechanic” who was meticulous in his work.
“You knew your bike was going to come back to you as good as new,” he said.
The trial continues on Tuesday before Ms Justice Tara Burns and the jury of seven men and five women
