REGINA v Elizabeth Anne BURDIS [1999] NSWSC 614

New South Wales Supreme Court CITATION : REGINA v Elizabeth Anne BURDIS [1999] NSWSC 614 CURRENT JURISDICTION : Criminal FILE NUMBER(S) : 70052/98 HEARING DATE(S) : 18 June 1999 JUDGMENT DATE : 23 June 1999

PARTIES : Regina Elizabeth Anne Burdis JUDGMENT OF : Sully J

COUNSEL : Mark Antonty McAdam QC - Crown Christopher John Bruce - Defence SOLICITORS : Crown Solicitor Legal Aid of NSW CATCHWORDS : Criminal law - murder by stabbing and 2 accompanying and serious discrete stabbing offences; defence of mental illness precluding criminal responsibility - Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 (NSW), s.38.; Trial by Judge alone pursuant to an election made in conformity with Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s.32(1).; Held: defence established; verdict on each count of not guilty by reason of mental illness - ancillary orders ACTS CITED : Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 (NSW) s.38 Criminal Procedure Act 1986 (NSW), s.32(1) DECISION : Not guilty by reason of mental illness - to be detained as a forensic patient at the Bunya Unit of the Cumberland Hospital until released by due process of law.

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES CRIMINAL DIVISION

SULLY J

23 June 1999

70052/98 - Regina v Elizabeth Anne BURDIS

REASONS FOR VERDICT

1 HIS HONOUR: On 18 June instant Elizabeth Anne Burdis, ["the accused"], was presented for trial in this Court upon an indictment containing three counts. 2 The first count in the indictment charges the accused with having murdered her father, Ronald John Burdis, on 29 March 1998 at Rous. In order to establish this charge, the Crown must prove beyond reasonable doubt all of the following: