Overview
- A consultant forensic psychiatrist for the State told the Central Criminal Court the accused can stand trial with accommodations such as simplified or closed questions, repetition, and use of an interpreter.
- Defence experts maintain he is unfit due to moderate dementia, citing confabulation, poor attention, and an inability to weigh plea options or give reliable evidence.
- The judge is gathering submissions and additional expert evidence, and the hearing will continue tomorrow as the court considers the fitness determination.
- Prosecutors outlined charges including three counts of attempted murder of children, serious harm to a creche worker, multiple assaults, and production of a knife, noting CCTV of the incident and one child’s life-altering injuries.
- The court heard the accused has a complex medical history, including 2021 surgery for a benign brain tumour, later skull bone removal due to infection, and a brain injury on the day of the alleged offence; the judge has restricted identification of legal teams and medical witnesses.