00:00Jordan Finnegan-Ganafo pleaded not guilty to six charges, including Stephen Toga's murder,
00:07over an unprovoked stabbing attack on the paramedic outside Campbelltown McDonald's
00:12in April last year.
00:13Now, up until recently, this case appeared to be headed for a jury trial, but earlier
00:17this week, the New South Wales Supreme Court heard of evidence from two psychiatrists which
00:22suggested that Finnegan-Ganafo has a mental health impairment in the form of schizophrenia,
00:27and that at the time, he was experiencing symptoms of psychosis, including auditory
00:32hallucinations and hearing the voices of demons.
00:35Now, according to experts engaged by both the Crown and Defence, that means that he
00:40was deprived of the ability to see that his act was wrong, and it makes available to him
00:45a special verdict of act proven but not criminally responsible.
00:48Today, Justice David Davies said there was nothing to cast doubt on the opinions of those
00:53two experts, and he entered that special verdict for all six charges.
00:58In court, there were members of the Toga family, and there was a sense of disbelief from the
01:02public gallery as many of those people shook their heads.
01:05One person yelled out, you chose not to take your medication, you're the demon.
01:10This means that Finnegan-Ganafo will now be periodically assessed by a mental health tribunal.
01:15Outside court, members of Stephen Toga's family said they were simply appalled by this outcome,
01:20and said that Mr Toga has been lost to a deeply flawed system.
01:24His family is now planning to meet with members of the New South Wales Government, including
01:29the State Minister for Mental Health and the Attorney-General, and his father, Geoff Toga,
01:34says that they are struggling to accept the outcome.
01:37What shocks us most is that more than 12 months after Stephen's death, his killer was assessed
01:44by two forensic psychiatrists.
01:48It was their opinion that ultimately led to the verdict that Stephen's killer should
01:52not be held criminally responsible for his death.
01:59These opinions were never tested in court, and the two psychiatrists responsible for
02:05this deeply offensive decision have not even set foot in the courtroom.
02:12Stephen's killer got away with murder.
02:16There were also members of the Finnegan-Ganafo family here today and supporters.
02:20Outside court, as they left, one of those group members simply said, we're sorry, and
02:24defence lawyer Javid Faiz said this was a tragic case, and the family wished to extend
02:29their deepest sympathies.
Comments