Overview

• On June 19, 2025, the South Australian District Court accepted that Richards did not know her conduct was wrong and acquitted her of causing death and harm by dangerous driving.
• Judge Carmen Matteo found on the balance of probabilities that an acute relapse of schizoaffective disorder produced persecutory delusions that impaired Richards’s understanding of her actions.
• Richards pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of the crash but successfully argued mental incompetence over the four dangerous driving charges.
• The high-speed collision on the Port River Expressway killed 26-year-old Erica Hoy and injured three others after Richards rear-ended their Toyota Prius while under the influence of methamphetamine.
• Richards will return to court on July 25 for a pre-sentence hearing on the leaving-the-scene conviction.