The Supreme Court of Western Australia, sitting as judge alone, found the accused not guilty of murder and an omission causing danger on account of mental impairment under s 27(1) of the Criminal Code (WA), where uncontradicted psychiatric evidence established the accused was suffering from a schizophrenia spectrum disorder that deprived him of the capacity to know he ought not kill his father and the capacity to control his actions regarding the knife that injured his stepmother. The Court confirmed that where expert psychiatric evidence is uncontradicted and no facts or circumstances warrant its rejection, a verdict contrary to that evidence cannot be given. The appropriate order under pt 5 of the Criminal Law (Mental Impairment) Act 2023 (WA) was deferred pending further reports.
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