The Central Criminal Court has been informed that a man, aged 35, who asserts innocence on grounds of insanity in the murder trial involving his intended wife, confessed to law enforcement that he felt like an uncontrollable beast while using his hands to strangle her. Andrei Dobra made a statement to the gardaí in which he compared himself to a puppet manipulated by a demon while choking her, this eventually lead to the passing of 30-year-old Ioana Mihaela Pacala in their apartment based in Riverwalk Court, Ratoath, Co Meath along Fairyhouse Road around November 12th, 2022.
Mr Dobra pleaded innocent on grounds of mental instability to the charge of murdering her. Both the defence and prosecution’s psychiatrists will present evidence to indicate his mental health problems at the time of her death.
Mr Dobra and Ms Pacala, who are both native Romanians, were depicted as a dedicated, industrious couple planning to wed. Expert evidence from the State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster presented in court determined that Ms Pacala had been strangled which resulted in her death due to oxygen deprivation in the brain.
During Mr Dobra’s court hearing in the Central Criminal Court held on Wednesday, State Counsel Sean Guerin SC received testimonies from Det Sgt Shane Dervan stating that when charges were pressed to the defendant, he regretfully responded, “I feel immense remorse, this should not have happened”. In a Garda interview, the accused reported having frightening dreams of someone planning his murder which he described as encounters with ‘ghosts’ and unease in the middle of the night attributing it to his mental state.
When questioned by Det Sgt Dervan about who was responsible for Ms Pacala’s death, he ambiguously mentioned God and possibly a demon but couldn’t recall the sequence of events. When asked by the police, who pointed out Ms Pacala’s struggle reflected by marks on him, Mr Dobra confessed, “I believe she clawed me”. Mr Dobra articulated to the police, that he strangled her and admitted to have committed a significant blunder.
Detective Sergeant Dervan confirmed to Defence Counsel Michael Bowman SC that police officials journeyed to Romania to interact with the kinfolk of both the victim and the defendant. The information gathered portrayed the couple as hardworking and deeply devoted to one another, planning for a future matrimony, and there were no indicatives of domestic abuse in their history.
A conversation between the defendant and the victim’s father was brought to light by Det Sgt Dervan. The father of Ms Pacala spoke to the accused, Mr Dobra, the night prior to his daughter’s unbefitting demise. Mr Dobra’s responses were found to be incoherent. As the investigation advanced, the idea of a possible psychiatric aspect to the case surfaced.
The jury was informed by Mr Guerin at the onset of the trial that they would receive evidence from Dr Brenda Wright, a consultant psychiatrist. She was to testify that the defendant, Mr Dobra, was undergoing a severe depressive spell with psychotic indications when the murder occurred. It was her belief that Mr Dobra felt his life was in jeopardy, hence making his crime of taking his partner’s life appear morally valid. Furthermore, she was set to argue that Mr Dobra was incapable of comprehending the wickedness of such an act.
In the defendant’s defence, Prof Patricia Casey is set to propose that the defendant was grappling with schizoaffective disorder, coupled with psychosis during the incident. On at least one point, both psychiatrists agreed, that was; Mr Dobra’s mental condition reduced his mental capacities significantly.
Justice Melanie Greally will continue to preside over the trial, along with a jury of six men and six women, when it resumes on Friday.