R v Tatarinova [2004] NSWSC 676

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : R v Tatarinova [2004] NSWSC 676 HEARING DATE(S) : 30/07/04 JUDGMENT DATE : 30 July 2004

JURISDICTION: Common Law Division Criminal List JUDGMENT OF : Kirby J DECISION : Order that Mrs Tatarinova should be detained in the Bunya Forensic Unit at the Cumberland Hospital, or such other place as may be determined by the Mental Health Review Tribunal, until released by due process of law.

CATCHWORDS : Criminal trial - Judge alone - murder - mental illness - defect of reason - M'Naghten's case - special verdict - s38 Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 LEGISLATION CITED : Mental Health (Criminal Procedure) Act 1990 Crimes Act 1900 CASES CITED : M'Naghten's case (1843) 10 Cl & Fin 200 [8 ER 718] PARTIES : Regina Irena Tatarinova FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 70109/03 COUNSEL : W Dawe QC (Crown) J Stratton SC (Acc) SOLICITORS : J Zafiropoulos - DPP (Crown) V Havryliv - Ford Gaitanis Lawyers (Acc)

- 1 - IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES COMMON LAW DIVISION CRIMINAL LIST

KIRKBY J

Friday 30 July 2004

70109/03 REGINA v Irina TATARINOVA

JUDGMENT 1 KIRBY J: Irina Tatarinova stands charged with having, on 16 August 2003, at Penshurst in the State of New South Wales, murdered her daughter, Alexandra Tatarinova. Alexandra was then 14 years old. 2 Mrs Tatarinova has pleaded not guilty. She has raised the defence of mental illness. She has, with the consent of the Crown, elected to be tried by a Judge sitting without a jury.

The offence. 3 Mrs Tatarinova was born in St Petersburg, Russia, on 8 June 1966. She is 38 years old. She married in 1985. Her husband also came from St Petersburg. Their child, Alexandra, was born on 28 November 1988. The marriage, however, came to an end in 1994. She and her husband divorced. He then left Russia and came to Australia. He is a permanent resident. 4 However, in 2000, Mr Tatarinov returned to Russia. He resumed his relationship with his former wife. They remarried. He then returned to Australia. His wife applied for a visa so that she and her daughter could join her husband. 5 However there was some delay in obtaining their visas. In December 2002 the accused experienced a bout of depression. She had difficulty sleeping. She began to have dreams about family members wearing black. However, she did not at that time receive psychiatric help. 6 On 16 January 2003 the documentation allowing the accused and her daughter to rejoin her husband came through. The depression lifted. She and her daughter arrived in Australia on 18 February 2003. They moved into a flat at Penshurst. Alexandra enrolled at the local high school. The accused began a course in English at a local TAFE College. 7 However, in July 2003 the accused was again plagued by feelings of depression. She found difficulty sleeping. She lost her appetite. She began losing weight. She had no energy. She began once more to experience nightmares. She said to the police that she had dreams "so horrible that I feel like my heart breaks into pieces in the dream". Socially, she withdrew. 8 About four or five days before the incident, Mrs Tatarinova suffered an acute panic attack. An ambulance was called. She was examined by the ambulance officers. They could find nothing physically wrong with her. They recommended that she consult a Russian speaking doctor. 9 On Tuesday 12 August 2003 Mrs Tatarinova saw Dr Aristoff, who spoke Russian. She explained her difficulties. He prescribed a low dose of an anti-depressant medication, Allegron. 10 At about this time, or shortly after, Mrs Tatarinova began experiencing hallucinations of voices that she took to be the voice of God. The voices became more insistent, increasing in frequency and intensity. She asked her husband to take her to the Russian Orthodox Church at Strathfield, although neither she nor her husband ordinarily attended church. She said that she had an uncontrollable fear that she could not explain. She saw images of her daughter with a black circle around her head, which she interpreted as an indication that she had been taken over by an evil spirit. Something came into her head which told her that if she killed her daughter she may be able to save her. She would then become an angel. She believed she had no choice. She loved her daughter whom she regarded as her best friend. When she acted, she simply wanted it to be over quickly so that her daughter would not suffer. At approximately 4.30 am on Saturday 16 August 2003 Mrs Tatarinova inflicted a single stab wound to her daughter's chest from which she died almost at once. 11 The police and ambulance arrived at the premises within minutes. They observed the accused lying in the loungeroom in a semi-foetal position. Due to concerns about her mental condition she was taken to the St George Hospital. Blood analysis revealed the anti-depression medication in her bloodstream, but nothing else. 12 Mrs Tatarinova was transferred to the psychiatric ward for women at Long Bay Hospital. She came under the care of Dr Giuffrida. Dr Giuffrida described her as "profoundly depressed". She was almost mute, with no spontaneous expression, even when an interpreter was present. I have seen the video of the police procedures, performed shortly after the incident, where Mrs Tatarinova presents in the way described by her psychiatrist. She continued to receive treatment and was ultimately transferred to The Bunya Forensic Unit at the Cumberland Hospital. 13 None of these tragic facts can be doubted. Each is corroborated by her husband, by neighbours and by persons to whom her daughter spoke about her mother's developing illness.