The Central Criminal Court has heard that a 63-year-old man set fire to the house he lived in with his mother and told witnesses he had killed her.
Guenter Lohse of An Chúlbhá, An Dúchoraidh in Co Donegal, has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his 88-year-old mother on 12 April 2022, by way of arson.
He will be sentenced in July.
Garda Ciara Gibbons told prosecuting counsel Philipp Rahn, that Lohse set three fires in the bungalow he rented with his mother Ruth on the afternoon of 12 April 2022.
Ms Lohse died of smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide toxicity.
Heart disease was a contributory factor in her death.
The court was told Lohse’s brother, Kurt and his family had moved from Germany to Donegal in 2000.
Ruth Lohse came to join them in 2016 so she could be near her family. Guenter Lohse lived with his mother in Germany and moved with her to Ireland.
The court heard Guenter Lohse had a long history of mental health and personality issues. Family members suspected he could have schizophrenia or autism, but he had not been diagnosed with anything.
Ruth Lohse’s health had deteriorated in the period leading up to the fire.
Her family began to put in place a care plan for her and it was decided that she would be cared for by her son Kurt and his family while Guenter would go back to Germany where a flat would be arranged for him.
However, Mr Rahn told the court Lohse was not particularly happy about this and was also annoyed when family members began cleaning out the house.
The court heard he was hoarding items.
Ms Lohse’s granddaughter, Eva called to her grandmother several times a day to care for her.
She discovered Guenter had written obscenities in greeting cards in the house and there was a family confrontation.
The altercation appeared to have been defused but the following day, but Eva and her father Kurt, arrived at the bungalow to find it full of dense black smoke.
Guenter Lohse was climbing out of a bathroom window.
He said he needed a drink of milk and indicated his mother was still inside.
Efforts were made by Kurt and Eva to rescue Ms Lohse but they were beaten back by the smoke.
The court heard Guenter Lohse set three fires in the house. One of them was in the living room just beside where Ms Lohse was sitting.
The court heard she had reduced mobility because of her health issues.
A firefighter who arrived at the scene noted that a man was shouting “I killed my mother” when his sister-in-law put it to him that he had killed her, he replied: “I did it, I’m going back to Germany”.
In garda interviews he said he had wanted to take his own life and had tried to take his mother out of the house but was unable to move her.
In a victim impact statement, Kurt Lohse said his mother was the heart and soul of the family and was painfully missed by her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
He said he did not think they would ever get over the trauma caused to the family by his brother’s “ruthless and cowardly” actions.
The landlords and owners of the house, Martin and Heather Caulfield also submitted a victim impact statement.
They said they had been unable to claim on insurance due to an issue with their insurance policy and were suffering from severe stress and financial consequences.
They said no one had been able to compensate them for their loss.
They felt completely isolated, they said, and were unsure where to get help.
They said they were victims in the case and wanted to be acknowledged for the emotional and severe financial trauma they had experienced.
Defence counsel, Seoirse O Dunlaing said Guenter Lohse had no previous convictions and was displaying very odd behaviour in the lead up to the fire.
Lohse had told gardaí it was not intentional and he did not want to kill his mother.
Mr O Dunlaing said Lohse was deeply apologetic for the hurt and pain he had caused his family and accepted he had to be punished.
But he said he would need support structures in place after he is finished serving his sentence.
Judge Melanie Greally ordered a probation report and the matter will be before the court again on 29 July.
