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Accused murderer claims drug altered his state of mind

Accused murderer claims drug altered his state of mind

Perth Now10 hours ago
A man with a neurological condition that limits his ability to move claims he was not in the right state of mind when he stabbed a woman to death.
Mark Ludbrook, who uses a wheelchair due to his transverse myelitis, took the illicit drug PCE on the morning of August 3, 2023, before he allegedly murdered Autumn Baker.
Ms Baker, one of Ludbrook's friends, had arrived at his Hoppers Crossing home in Melbourne's west about 1pm after he did not respond to her messages.
Ludbrook's carer answered the door and the two women went inside to find the 53-year-old naked and standing in the doorway of his bedroom.
The carer reported Ludbrook had been acting irrationally all morning and as they discussed what to do next, Ludbrook entered the kitchen and grabbed a steak knife.
He walked back to his room and when the carer followed, she found him lying on his bed and sticking the knife into his abdomen.
The carer yelled at him to stop and Ms Baker also came in, with the two women attempting to pull the knife off him.
The carer left the room to grab her phone and call triple zero when she heard Ms Baker scream.
The woman returned to find Ludbrook repeatedly stabbing Ms Baker, who was on her back on the floor.
Ludbrook thrust the knife in the carer's direction as the woman tried to stop him, so she moved away to speak to the triple-zero call taker.
Ludbrook then came out of the room naked and covered in blood so the woman ran from the house.
When police arrived, Ludbrook - who was still naked - ran to the backyard but they managed to restrain him.
More officers arrived to find Ms Baker's unresponsive body in the bedroom and despite attempts at resuscitation, she died at the scene.
Ludbrook, who was hospitalised after the alleged murder, was found to have the drug PCE in his system.
He does not deny he caused Ms Baker's death but his barrister told a Victorian Supreme Court jury her client was not in control of his actions at the time.
Barrister Emily Clark said Ludbrook had taken PCE on the morning of Ms Baker's death to manage the pain from his neurological condition.
But she argued his state of mind was so altered by the drug that he could not have consciously, deliberately or voluntarily carried out the killing.
It was also disputed that Ludbrook held an intention to kill Ms Baker or cause her really serious injury, Ms Clark said.
Intention and state of mind are two elements of murder the jury must consider before returning a verdict.
Crown prosecutor Jim Shaw told jurors Ludbrook's actions were conscious and deliberate so they could find him guilty of murder.
During his opening address, Mr Shaw played body-worn camera footage from the officer who discovered Ms Baker's body.
He also tendered autopsy photos, which he said showed two fatal stab wounds to Ms Baker's chest, as well as several other wounds to her arms, hands and face.
The trial before Justice John Champion continues.
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Triple murderer Erin Patterson would have been unfairly prejudiced if a jury heard allegations she tried to kill her ex-husband in the years before a deadly mushroom lunch. Victorian Supreme Court Justice Christopher Beale made the decision on March 14, ruling Patterson would have to face a separate trial for the three attempted murder offences. Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges in relation to Simon Patterson just before the triple-murder trial started in Morwell. Patterson was on July 7 found guilty of killing Simon's parents, Don and Gail, 70, and his aunt Heather Wilkinson, 66, along with the attempted murder of her husband Ian Wilkinson. Justice Beale's redacted pre-trial rulings were released to media on Monday evening after Patterson lost her bid to keep the evidence a secret to preserve her appeal rights. The details around the alleged attempted murders of Simon Patterson were revealed for the first time on Friday. 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He determined if a jury found Patterson had deliberately poisoned her four lunch guests in July 2023, there was a risk they would wrongly assess the charges relating to Simon. "I am not persuaded that its probative value substantially outweighs the significant danger or risk of unfair prejudice to the accused," Justice Beale said in his written reasons. The judge also made pre-trial rulings in relation to documents about poisoning found on devices police seized from Patterson's home. Justice Beale ruled the documents failed the relevance test because the evidence could only go as high as Patterson possibly accessed the file. The judge also stopped the jury from seeing a Facebook post Patterson made to a poisons page, where she claimed her cat had chewed on a mushroom and was vomiting. Justice Beale noted the post was made 18 months before the first allegation in relation to Simon. 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Justice Beale's redacted pre-trial rulings were released to media on Monday evening after Patterson lost her bid to keep the evidence a secret to preserve her appeal rights. The details around the alleged attempted murders of Simon Patterson were revealed for the first time on Friday. Prosecutors had alleged Patterson tried to poison Simon several times between 2021 and 2022. The first was a penne pasta Patterson cooked him before leaving for a camping trip in November 2021, which led to a five-day hospital stay for Simon. He also ended up in a coma after a camping trip in late May 2022 where he allegedly ate a chicken korma curry Patterson had made him. Simon had to undergo surgery to remove a large portion of his bowel after eating the curry, he told the Supreme Court during pre-trial hearings. It was also alleged he fell ill in September 2022 after eating a wrap Patterson prepared for him while camping together at Wilsons Promontory. 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Simon had to undergo surgery to remove a large portion of his bowel after eating the curry, he told the Supreme Court during pre-trial hearings. It was also alleged he fell ill in September 2022 after eating a wrap Patterson prepared for him while camping together at Wilsons Promontory. The prosecution claimed the allegations could be used as coincidence evidence to show the similarities between what allegedly happened to Simon and the mushroom lunch guests. But Justice Beale ruled the charges should be heard in a separate trial to prevent jurors from "misusing or overvaluing" the evidence in relation to Simon. He determined if a jury found Patterson had deliberately poisoned her four lunch guests in July 2023, there was a risk they would wrongly assess the charges relating to Simon. "I am not persuaded that its probative value substantially outweighs the significant danger or risk of unfair prejudice to the accused," Justice Beale said in his written reasons. 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