Conflicting evidence has been presented at an inquest into the deaths of an elderly couple regarding what the mental health team that examined their killer was told.
In May 2017, a "frenzied attack" in the County Armagh home of Michael and Marjorie Cawdery, both 83, claimed their lives.
The police officer and the doctor who treated Thomas Scott McEntee four days before he killed the Cawderys provided different accounts to the inquest.
For manslaughter, McEntee is currently incarcerated for at least 10 years.
The investigation heard testimony from Dr. Melissa King, who was a member of the two-person team tasked with determining Entee's mental state on May 22, 2017, at the Mater Hospital in Belfast.
Dr. King testified in court that Joe McConville, a mental health nurse, had assumed control of the assessment while she served as the note-taker.
According to her, McEntee claimed to have no suicidal thoughts, paranoia, or delusions during the evaluation.
Dr. King claimed that they had learned that McEntee had gone to the Musgrave Police Station and declared that his life was in danger and that there had been talk of an "inner light" and paranoia.
She testified at the inquest that McEntee claimed during the assessment that the "inner light" he had been referring to was sobriety, and that others were attempting to dim it.
He claimed that despite prior addiction issues, he had been sober for one year and 11 months.
The inquest was informed that there was no mention of police involvement in Dr. King's notes.
When asked if she could recall what attending police officer Constable Hugh Gibson had said, the doctor claimed he had mentioned McEntee's paranoia and "an inner light.".
When questioned about whether there had been any mention of "angels and demons" or "poisoning," she replied that there had not, adding that if there had, it would have been noted in her notes.
She claimed that Mr. McConville would have used this information, which was pertinent, to further question McEntee during the evaluation.
When asked by the coroner's attorney if she had been informed that McEntee posed a threat to himself or others, Dr. King replied that if she had, the team would have requested that police be allowed to stay in the room to ensure their safety.
Constable Gibson then testified at the inquest about how he waited with McEntee for an evaluation for a number of hours at the emergency room of the Mater.
The officer testified in court that he expressed his worries to the triage nurse about McEntee's behavior and that he felt he required a mental health evaluation and to be "sectioned.".
He claimed to be worried about violence.
The mental health team was informed by Constable Gibson that McEntee had told him that "if anyone had tried to put out the inner light, he would defend himself.".
The officer stated that he made his statement seven months after the incident and that he had not recorded any information about his time at the hospital in his police notebook.
It was mentioned that a risk assessment created by the officers who sat with McEntee before Constable Gibson stated that there was no threat of violence from McEntee.
Constable Gibson responded that he felt it was more important to express his concerns to medical staff after having a lengthy conversation with McEntee about the risk assessment.
The officer was questioned by the South Eastern Trust's attorney about why he permitted a person he thought might be violent into a room with two medical professionals.
He responded by saying he had voiced his concerns to the mental health team.
The officer was informed by the legal team for the health trust that if he had expressed concerns to mental health staff, they would have been recorded in his notes and that he had not.
McEntee's criminal history was also investigated, according to Constable Gibson, who also informed the staff of McEntee's violent past. Constable Gibson did not mention this information in his statement.
Constable Gibson vehemently denied the accusation that he was inventing this as he went along.
The defense attorney continued by denying claims that the information he had given the mental health team about McEntee's alleged use of the language of angels and devils and his belief that McEntee posed a threat to both himself and others was accurate. That was not the case, Constable Gibson retorted.
The investigation is ongoing.
