A gunman who said he was "shovelling" cocaine into himself when he opened fire on a family member with a submachine gun in the victim's front garden was not suffering from a "substance-induced psychotic disorder", a jury has found in unanimously convicting him of murder.
The jury rejected father-of-six Christopher Devine's defence that he should be found guilty of manslaughter because he had a mental disorder which would have diminished his capacity to control himself.
They also rejected his contention that he was so intoxicated from taking "industrial quantities" of cocaine, combined with large amounts of alcohol, he could not have formed an intention to kill or cause serious injury.
Instead the panel accepted the case argued by Garret Baker SC, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, that Devine's mind was functioning as he had acted deliberately in the build-up to, as well as in the aftermath of, the killing of Michael Tormey.
The trial heard evidence that Devine, who told gardaí that he was Mr Tormey's best man at his wedding, drove to the victim's home and shot him five times before walking back to his car and spinning the wheels as he made his escape.
Devine repeatedly denied to gardai that he murdered Mr Tormey and the weapon used - an MP5 pattern submachine gun - was never recovered.
The court heard that Devine has no psychiatric history and had never taken any psychiatric medication.
Following today's verdict, Ms Justice Melanie Greally, who presided in the trial, adjourned the matter to 19 December when Devine faces the mandatory sentence of life imprisonment.
Members of the Tormey family will be invited to make statements to the court on that date.
Devine, 44, with an address at Convent Lawns, Kylemore Road, Ballyfermot in Dublin 10 had pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Tormey, 49 at Thomond Road in Ballyfermot in the early hours of 9 January 2022.
Mr Tormey was struck by five bullets in his front garden which went through his body, causing bleeding, rib fractures and partial lung collapse.
Devine told gardaí in his interviews that he stood best man for Mr Tormey.
During the seven-day trial at the Central Criminal Court, two psychiatrists differed on whether Devine qualified for a manslaughter verdict on the basis of diminished responsibility and cocaine intoxication.
Defence psychiatrist Dr John Hillery found that the defendant was suffering from substance-induced psychotic disorder, which would have diminished his capacity to control himself.
However, forensic psychiatrist Dr James Walsh, who was called by the prosecution, told the trial that Devine was not suffering from a mental disorder and instead met the criteria for cocaine intoxication from his self-reported consumption of 100 grams of cocaine over three days.
