R v Breckenridge [2024] NSWSC 1522

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: R v Breckenridge [2024] NSWSC 1522 Hearing dates: 27 November 2024 Date of orders: 28 November 2024 Decision date: 28 November 2024 Jurisdiction: Common Law - Criminal Before: Rothman J Decision: (1) Pursuant to the terms of s 31 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW), on the single count on the indictment, namely murder, a special verdict is entered and the Court orders that the act is proven and the accused, Matthew Robert Breckenridge, is not criminally responsible; (2) Pursuant to ss 33 and 34 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act, the accused is to be detained in a correctional facility or at such other place as determined by the Mental Health Review Tribunal, until released by due process of law; (3) Pursuant to s 34 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act, the accused is referred to the Mental Health Review Tribunal; (4) The Registrar is to notify the Minister for Health of these orders within seven days hereof; (5) The Registrar is to notify the Mental Health Review Tribunal of the verdict and these orders within seven days hereof; (6) Within seven days hereof, the Registrar is to provide the Mental Health Review Tribunal with a copy of these orders and the Reasons for Judgment, when they are available, and the psychiatric reports of Dr Olav Nielssen of 2 March 2023, 30 July 2024, and 31 October 2024, together with the psychiatric reports of Prof David Greenberg of 2 February 2024, 20 March 2024, 18 September 2024, and 10 November 2024; and (7) The Registrar is to notify Justice Health of the verdict and orders, and provide a copy of the Reasons for Judgment, orders and exhibits in the proceedings to Justice Health within seven days hereof. Catchwords: CRIME – murder – defence of mental illness – accused fit to plead and stand trial – special verdict – act proven but accused not criminally responsible – orders made under ss 31, 33, and 34 of Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW) MENTAL HEALTH – criminal proceedings – where agreement on defence of mental health impairment – special verdict entered Legislation Cited: Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW), ss 28, 31, 33, 34 Texts Cited: American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Rex (Crown) Matthew Robert Breckenridge (Accused) Representation: Counsel: J Stanhope (Crown) P Krisenthal (Accused)