A 39-year-old Nigerian based in Ireland, Brian Ogbo, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for the killing of his 82-year-old grandmother, Stella Nnadi, during what an Irish court described as a severe psychotic breakdown.

Ogbo 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 presented in court, Ogbo moved from Nigeria to Ireland in December 2024 to reunite with his mother, Ruby Ogbo, and his grandmother. The court heard that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017 and had missed two scheduled anti-psychotic injections after arriving in Ireland.

His mother, a social worker, reportedly made repeated attempts to secure medical treatment for him but encountered difficulties within the Irish mental health system.

Presiding judge Sinead Behan stated that Ogbo was clearly experiencing a major psychotic episode during the incident.

Detective Garda Tom Delaney told the court that Ogbo had been pacing around the house for hours before becoming violent. He allegedly destroyed parts of the kitchen and consumed all the food in the home.

Tension reportedly escalated after his grandmother confronted him over the food and threatened to take away his phone and disconnect the house WiFi.

Ruby Ogbo later removed the internet router from the house before leaving, but prosecutors said her son allegedly followed her with a pair of scissors. He then pushed her to the ground and repeatedly punched her.

The court heard that Ogbo later searched for his grandmother, who had locked herself inside a bathroom upstairs. After demanding that she open the door, he reportedly broke it down, dragged her downstairs, and forced her outside the house.

Although Stella Nnadi initially appeared not to have suffered life-threatening injuries, her health deteriorated two days later. Medical examinations later revealed bleeding in her brain, and she died in hospital on February 25, 2025.

A postmortem examination concluded that she died from blunt force trauma to the head sustained during the attack.

Defence lawyer Jane Hyland described the case as a devastating tragedy for both the family and the defendant, noting that Ogbo had maintained a close relationship with his grandmother throughout his life and was deeply traumatised by her death.

The defence argued that his mental condition at the time was so severe that he could have qualified for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity if the matter had proceeded to a full trial.

Judge Behan criticised shortcomings in the Irish mental healthcare system, stating that the death could “arguably have been prevented.” She described the failures in psychiatric care and support services as “unforgivable.”

The court also heard that a psychiatric treatment appointment for Ogbo arrived by post just two days after the killing.

In sentencing, the judge considered his early guilty plea, lack of previous criminal convictions, and continued support from family members. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment, with the final 18 months suspended.

The sentence was backdated to February 27, 2025, when he was first remanded in custody. The court further ordered that Ogbo must continue engaging with mental health and probation services after his release.