A PATIENT who fatally stabbed a nurse has been found not guilty of murder on the grounds of mental illness, after a court heard he believed chiropractors were witch doctors who could revive the dead.
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Matthew Peter Loughrey, 34, fatally stabbed Bob Fenwick, 63, whom he described as "a very nice person", at Bloomfield Hospital in January.
On the same day he wounded nurse Emily Pritchard, 20, by lunging at her with a knife.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, Justice Elizabeth Fullerton handed down a special verdict after concluding Mr Loughrey did not know what he was doing was wrong.
He had told police he believed Mr Fenwick could be brought back by a blood transfusion.
Doctors who interviewed Mr Loughrey said be believed chiropractors from local business were witch doctors who could bring people back from the dead.
In considering her verdict the judge relied on reports from four doctors who agreed Mr Loughrey suffered from a "disease of the mind" that made him incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions.
At the time of the attack, Mr Loughrey was a voluntary patient at the hospital's mental health unit.
He had shadowed Mr Fenwick and Ms Pritchard as they completed their rounds.
Ms Pritchard waited outside one patient's room while Mr Fenwick went in to administer an injection.
After a brief exchange, Mr Loughrey attacked her with a knife.
When she ran into the room Mr Loughrey followed, yelling, "Let me just kill her, I want to kill her."
Ms Pritchard sought refuge behind a bed while Mr Fenwick tried to fight Mr Loughrey off with a broom.
During the altercation, Mr Fenwick received a stab wound to the chest that punctured his heart.
The judge said the incident was the result of Mr Loughrey's complex underlying mental health conditions, delusional beliefs, the worsening of schizophrenia symptoms in the days leading up to the event and the accessibility of knives.
She said the tragedy could have been avoided if he had been adequately treated and monitored.
However, she did not apportion blame to medical staff.
Before delivering her verdict she referred to victim impact statements in which Ms Pritchard described continuing psychological trauma, while his wife spoke of her grief at having lost her husband of 33 years, who was her "companion in every way".
Justice Fullerton said Mr Fenwick had been heroic in going to the aid of Ms Pritchard.
Mr Loughrey will be detained at Long Bay prison hospital and will only be released if deemed not to be a danger to the community or himself.
