Lurgan man, Ben Gibson, 21, acquitted of multiple attempted murders on 'grounds of insanity'

A Lurgan man was handed an indefinite hospital order on Tuesday after a jury acquitted him of multiple attempted murders “on the grounds of insanity.”

After hearing half a day of undisputed evidence on Monday, and then speeches on Tuesday morning, the Craigavon Crown Court jury deliberated for less than half an hour before returning with their unanimous verdicts.

They found Ben Gibson not guilty of three counts of attempted murder on the grounds of insanity and one charge of having knife with intent to commit murder on 11 April last year.

Following the unanimous verdicts, Judge Patrick Lynch KC moved straight to sentencing, highlighting that he heard evidence from two consultant psychiatrists, one who gave evidence and one who produced a report, but both of whom were agreed in their findings that diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic Gibson was insane at the time.

Gibson’s treating psychiatrist Dr East had recommended the judge imposes a hospital order with restrictions for an indefinite period and Judge Lynch followed that recommendation.

The court heard the order means that Gibson will be held and treated in a secure mental health facility and will not be freed until and unless the Department of Justice are satisfied that he is safe to be released.

Thanking the jury for their attention to the unusual case, Judge Lynch told them: “We can only hope that the defendant is treated in such a way that ultimately, he could be in a position at some future date to be released but that is obviously beyond by capacity to predict.”

The jury heard that when Gibson armed himself with a 12” kitchen knife on 11 April last year, stabbing two men in Lurgan town centre and causing a third men to flee in fear of his life, the 21-year-old was suffering from “command auditory hallucinations” where four faceless men were telling him he had to go and kill otherwise they would harm his family.

There was evidence that Gibson had taken at least 30 pregabalin tablets and consumed a bottle of Buckfast in the lead up to the terrifying incident but in giving evidence, consultant psychiatrist Dr Adrian East said he believed that even without being intoxicated, Gibson would still have launched his knife attacks.

He told the jury there was an “established diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia” in relation to Gibson’s mental state, a man who had signed himself out of his local mental health unit “against medical advice” just ten days before the incident.

Dr East outlined how the would-be killer had been suffering from mental health problems “dating back to 2016 but certainly from 2018” and in the lead up to the incidents in April last year, previous treatments had not worked to relieve symptoms and it was his view that Gibson’s condition was not likely to have improved before the offences.

He explained that in his view, the paranoid schizophrenia Gibson suffers from is an abnormality of mind to such an extent that it had materially affected his thought processes about what he was doing and the consequences of his actions.

The jury heard that in Gibson’s mind, he felt compelled to follow the voices who were talking to him because he feared if he did not obey their commands, “his family would be harmed.”

The jury also heard that a second psychiatrist, Dr. Curran, had also examined Gibson and while he reported that symptoms had mainly decreased under his new treatment regime, he had concluded that “I concur totally with the conclusions by my esteemed and respected colleague Dr East that Mr Gibson was effectively insane at the time of the index offences.”

The offences, the jury heard, began just after 8pm that evening when Gibson, from the Glenfield Road in Lurgan, approached his first victim in Moore’s Lane, stabbing him in the lower neck when his back was turned.

When he turned around, he told the jury he saw Gibson “holding the knife high:” in the air as though he was gong to strike again so he ran back inside the Polish deli where he worked and bolted the door.

Gibson’s second intended victim, who fortunately was not stabbed, saw that incident and fearing for his life, he took to his heels and sprinted away, blockading himself and a woman into a nearby kebab shop as Gibson strolled by holding the knife in his left hand.

A short distance away the third victim had just gotten out of his car when he saw Gibson, who appeared “heavily intoxicated,” approaching while bent over “clutching his stomach.”

When he straightened up however, he was brandishing the knife and he chased the victim into a tanning salon, stabbing him twice in the chest as other patrons fled for safety.

The second victim had bravely followed Gibson and he was able to direct police to Lurgan park where they arrested him.

The victims recounted in their evidence, in terms, that Gibson’s eyes had been dead and vacant and that he had a blank look on his face and the jury heard that when he was arrested, Gibson told police: “I attempted to kill them people.”

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