A 39-year-old Ireland-based Nigerian, 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 episode.

Ogbo was sentenced by the Cork Circuit Criminal Court after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of his grandmother at the family home in Carrigaline, County Cork, on February 23, 2025.

The court heard that Ogbo relocated from Nigeria to Ireland in December 2024 to reunite with his mother, Ruby Ogbo, and his grandmother.

According to evidence presented in court, Ogbo had been diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2017 and had missed two scheduled anti-psychotic injections after arriving in Ireland.

His mother reportedly made several attempts to secure treatment for him but encountered difficulties navigating the country's mental health system.

Judge Sinead Behan noted that Ogbo was experiencing a serious psychotic episode at the time of the incident.

The court heard that he had spent hours pacing around the house, damaging property, and behaving erratically before the attack occurred.

During the disturbance, Ogbo allegedly assaulted his mother before searching for his grandmother, who had locked herself in a bathroom for safety.

He eventually forced entry into the bathroom, dragged the elderly woman downstairs, and outside the house.

Although Nnadi initially appeared not to have suffered life-threatening injuries, her condition deteriorated two days later.

Medical examinations revealed bleeding in her brain, and she died in the hospital on February 25, 2025.

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

Defence lawyers described the case as a tragedy for both the victim's family and the defendant, noting that Ogbo had maintained a close relationship with his grandmother and was devastated by her death.

The court also heard that his mental condition at the time was so severely impaired that he may 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 within the mental healthcare system, suggesting the death might have been prevented with timely psychiatric intervention.

The court was told that a treatment appointment for Ogbo arrived by post just two days after the killing.

In sentencing, the judge imposed a five-year prison term but suspended the final 18 months, effectively leaving Ogbo to serve three and a half years.

The sentence was backdated to February 27, 2025, when he was first remanded in custody.

The court also ordered that Ogbo continue to engage with mental health and probation services following his release from prison.