Maud Coffey’s family said HSE Mental Health Services knew Austin Mangan had not been taking his psychiatric medicine for three months before he killed her.

THE FAMILY OF a woman killed by her partner while he was suffering a relapse of a schizoaffective disorder have spoken about their devastation and disbelief over her violent death at the hands of the “big friendly giant” who loved her.

The family of the deceased also criticised the HSE Mental Health Services who knew that Austin Mangan (53) had not been taking his psychiatric medicine for three months before he killed 41-year-old Maud Coffey.

They said he also sought help from his psychiatric team the day before her death but was “sent away with an appointment for the following week”.

In a statement released following a court hearing today, the family said: “Medication can be life-saving as part of a care plan, but it cannot be the only answer. If a care plan has only one strand, what happens when that strand breaks?”

Maud Coffey suffered multiple injuries during a “frenzied attack” at Mangan’s hands in January 2023.

A jury earlier this week found him not guilty of her murder by reason of insanity.

The family said they agree with the jury’s verdict, adding: “We do not believe Austin is responsible for Maud’s death. We wish him well in his recovery and hope he can find peace.” They also said that their “hearts go out” to the Mangan family.

They believe that if Mangan had been properly listened to, their sister would still be with them and “would not have died in such a horrendous way”. They said they want to work with the HSE to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The trial heard that Mangan told a consultant psychiatrist that he hadn’t been feeling well the day before the killing and went to Millmount Health Clinic in Drumcondra to get an injection, but that they wouldn’t give it to him. The defendant said that Millmount told him to go to another clinic, but instead he and Maud Coffey went to her apartment, as he was tired.

Under cross-examination, it was put to Dr Mullaney that Mangan had gone to get depot medication but there wasn’t someone to dispense it and was told to come back on 18 January.

Dr Mullaney said depots are highly organised and, to receive medication, there has to be an appointment with a community psychiatric nurse, which was “not available on the day, which was not surprising”. He agreed it may have made no difference, as the medication can take six weeks to take effect.

At today’s hearing, during which Mangan was committed to the Central Mental Hospital for continuing treatment, Maud Coffey’s three sisters and brother delivered statements detailing the impact of her death.

‘So many what ifs’

Breffní Coffey said Maud was “so happy when she met Austin”.

She added: “I remember her telling me about their first date, lying together on the grass in the park, talking together and watching the clouds go by. I was so happy she had found romance and joy in her life. It made me happy to know she had met someone who loved her for being her and cherished her inner strength.”

She was aware that prior to her death, Maud had her own struggles with mental health but she believed she was getting better.

She said: “Now we will never know what Maud could have gone on to achieve in her life and that breaks my heart. So many what ifs and could have beens. She will never get the cat she always wanted. She’ll never get to have her wedding day, which seemed just around the corner. She won’t get to watch her nieces and nephews grow up and take on the world, which she would have loved.”

She added:

I had to explain to my children that their beloved aunt had died at the hands of the man who loved her, because he was unwell.

Iseult Coffey said she is Maud’s eldest sister.

“When Maud began a relationship with Austin, I was so happy for her. She had met someone who loved and supported her.”

When Mangan met the rest of the family, he was “always kind and friendly and made a big effort,” she said, adding: “Everyone liked him; our nickname for him was the Big Friendly Giant.”

She said the manner of her sister’s death has left her with “total devastation and disbelief”. The children in the family knew Mangan as a “kind and gentle person,” she said.

“Helping them understand that serious mental illness can change someone so completely – that it can make someone behave in ways that are not truly who they are – has been an extremely painful and difficult lesson for them.”

‘Two people’s lives were destroyed’

Fergus Coffey described his sister as a “loving and gentle creature” who found her “bliss” with animals and children.

Síofra Coffey said Maud and Austin appeared to be happy together and looked after one another. “This is why it’s so difficult to come to terms with what happened. Two people’s lives were destroyed and two families were left reeling and broken.”

Fainche Coffey said finding out that Austin had killed her sister was “all too shocking and upsetting for words”. The details revealed at the inquest and trial “haunt” her, she said.

Each family member commented on the added distress caused by delays to the trial process. Brendan Grehan SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the cause of the delay was the difficulty in obtaining reports from forensic consultant psychiatrists. The lack of suitably qualified psychiatrists has delayed numerous trials in recent years.

Earlier today, Dr Patrick McLaughlin told Grehan that Mangan continues to suffer from a schizoaffective disorder and is in need of continuing treatment at the Central Mental Hospital.

Mr Justice Paul Burns said the family’s statements had brought “into sharp focus the sorrow, loss and hurt and the severe impact that lie behind verdicts such as in this case.”

He said the trial process was clearly difficult for the family and it was “most unfortunate ” that it took longer than it should. Mr Justice Burns committed Mangan to the Central Mental Hospital where he will be reviewed every six months.

In his closing speech, Patrick Gageby SC, defending, called the case “one of the saddest to be laid before a jury”. He said Maud was a kind and quiet woman, who was “subjected to a frenzied attack in her own home with every weapon available”.

Counsel said it was beyond doubt that Mangan, who had a very long psychiatric history and a long standing history of resisting medication, had killed his girlfriend. “He told everyone who would listen to him – and those who didn’t want to listen”.

The trial heard that Maud had developed significant mental health issues of her own and had spent two weeks in a specialist wing of Connolly Memorial Hospital before discharging herself two days before her death on 11 January 2023.

Mangan told gardaí he had killed his girlfriend and had referred to “the devil, the bible and to the killing of Lucifer”, which the defence referred to as an “unstoppable torrent coming out of his mouth”.

‘Element of overkill’

In his closing address, Brendan Grehan SC, for the DPP, submitted that there had been “an element of overkill” in terms of what had happened to Maud Coffey.

Counsel said a black flex which appeared to be from a hoover was found tightly wrapped around the deceased’s neck and she had been slashed across the throat and other parts of the body with a large knife.

He submitted that both expert witnesses in the case were in agreement that Mangan had a long-standing mental health history, interacting with “a whole gallery of doctors” from when he was 18 years old.

Grehan said the jurors had heard from two of Maud Coffey’s sisters, who had spoken in positive terms of the couple’s relationship and Mangan’s kindness towards Maud.

“There didn’t appear to be any red flags that she might in fact be in danger,” he stressed, adding that the defendant had been making plans to propose marriage to Maud.

Dr Ronan Mullaney, who was called by the defence, said Mangan was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the killing which rendered him unable to refrain from committing the killing. He found that Mangan met the criteria for the special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity.

UK consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Richard Church, for the State, had also testified that there was “no question” but that the defendant had a lifetime of significant mental illness. The expert witness said Mangan had told him he had been admitted to mental health services on 30 occasions – “sometimes at six month intervals during his life”.

However, the jurors rejected Dr Church’s finding that although Mangan was suffering from a mental disorder which diminished his responsibility for the act, he was able to refrain from the killing and therefore did not qualify for the special verdict.

Mangan (53), with a previous address at Hollybank Road in Drumcondra but more recently of the Beaumont area of Dublin, had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the murder of Maud Coffey (41) at the Horizon Building in Royal Canal Park, Ashtown, Dublin 15 on 13 January 2023.