A 67-year-old Irish man is fighting for his life in hospital after his son allegedly attacked him with a knife in Italy, Cork Beo reported.
The 32-year-old suspect, a Belgian native and the victim’s son, was arrested by Carabinieri police on Friday, November 13, in Piazza Liberta in the Sicilian town of Salemi. Passersby raised the alarm after spotting the man walking through the streets with his clothes covered in blood and appearing highly agitated.
When stopped for identification, the man allegedly told officers he was covered in blood because he had attacked his father with a knife shortly beforehand, offering no further explanation. Carabinieri officers went to the victim’s home and established that the 67-year-old had already been transported to Marsala Hospital, where he remains in critical condition.
A search of the suspect’s residence allegedly uncovered a blood-stained switchblade, which police seized as the suspected weapon. The Irish Mirror reported that the Irishman was initially remanded in custody at Trapani prison following a court hearing.
Further investigations coordinated by the Marsala Public Prosecutor’s Office subsequently uncovered a history of previous incidents across multiple countries requiring local authorities to intervene. Prosecutors then ordered a forensic psychiatric assessment.
The resulting report concluded that the suspect suffered from a severe psychotic disorder involving persecutory delusions and the misidentification of his father. Assessors found he lacked mental competence at the time of the alleged attack, identifying an ongoing risk to public safety and a need for specialist treatment in a secure setting.
Prosecutors sought to revoke the suspect’s detention, replacing it with a temporary security measure requiring confinement in a specialist residential healthcare facility known as a REMS. A judge overseeing preliminary investigations granted the request, and authorities have worked to arrange a transfer.
Because no beds were immediately available at a regional REMS facility, authorities placed the suspect in a suitable alternative healthcare facility to await a vacancy.
