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Murder – not guilty by reason of mental illness – grievous bodily harm of child – not guilty by reason of mental illness
Antony Waterlow was charged with the murder of his sister and father on the evening of 9 November 2009. He was also charged with the grievous bodily harm of his three year old niece at the same time. The main issue in this decision concerned whether Waterlow was mentally ill and not responsible in law for his actions. The test for this came from a High Court decision R v Porter [1933] HCA 1.(See Lawcite.) in which His Honour Sir Owen Dixon said:
"... The question is whether he was able to appreciate the wrongness of the particular act he was doing at the particular time. Could this man be said to know in this sense whether his act was wrong if through a disease or defect or disorder of the mind he could not think rationally of the reasons which to ordinary people make that act right or wrong? If through the disordered condition of the mind he could not reason about the matter with a moderate degree of sense and composure it may be said that he could not know that what he was doing was wrong. What is meant by "wrong"? What is meant by wrong is wrong having regard to the everyday standards of reasonable people."
Waterlow was found to be not guilty by reason of mental illness. However, an order for his detention under s39 of the Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act 1990 (NSW) was made that he be detained at Long Bay Prison Hospital until the mental Health Review Tribunal deem he is fit to be released, giving consideration to the views of his psychiatrist.
R v Waterlow [2011] NSWSC 326, 19 April 2011, Hidden J. See also Lawcite.
On 10 January 2014 the Coroner handed down its findings into the death of Nicholas Waterlow and his daughter Chloe Heuston. He made recommendations for the Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW) to be amended to help protect family and friends from "emotional harm" caused by people with mental illness.
See the Coroner's findings on the Coroner's Court website - type waterlow in the search box.
Find newspaper articles on Proquest ANZ Newsstand, available remotely to registered clients of the State Library of NSW. Search waterlow and murder.
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