Latest news with #AutumnBaker
News.com.au
14 hours ago
- News.com.au
Mark Ludbrook trial: Carer Amber Davidson says alleged killer was naked, standing and talking to flowers before alleged stabbing
A disabled man accused of murdering his friend was naked, walking for the first time in years and behaving 'extremely' unusually before the alleged killing, a court has been told. Mark Graham Ludbrook, 53, is facing trial in Victoria's Supreme Court over the alleged stabbing murder of Autumn Baker at his home on August 3, 2023. He has pleaded not guilty, with his lawyer saying while he caused Ms Baker's death, Mr Ludbrook was not in control of his actions at the time. On Tuesday, prosecutors called Amber Davidson as their first witness, a friend and carer of Mr Ludbrook who was present when Ms Baker died. She told the court Ms Baker entered the house for an unscheduled social visit and was shocked to see Mr Ludbrook naked and standing, questioning 'if this was a miracle'. ' … she was trying to get her head around what she was witnessing. She kept asking; 'is this a miracle, did something change?',' Ms Davidson said. Giving evidence, Ms Davidson said she'd known Mr Ludbrook since 2019 and became a part-time carer after he was diagnosed with transverse myelitis. The court was told Mr Ludbrook had first begun having trouble walking in December 2021 and was diagnosed with the rare neurological condition affecting the spinal cord midway through the following year. Ms Davidson said Mr Ludbrook was mostly reliant on a wheelchair but, at times, was able to stand for a short period of time and take a few steps. She said she had attended his Hoppers Crossing home in the morning of August 3 and soon noticed his behaviour was 'extremely out of the ordinary'. 'He's normally vibrant and quite expressive but more so,' she said. 'Essentially it went on for the whole morning.' Ms Davidson said the accused man was 'thanking colours', but not grey, talking about saving animals and thousands of people and rubbing a $50 note on his chest. Later, Mr Ludbrook stripped naked and walked outside, to her shock, where he appeared to be talking to a daisy bush. Two videos she took of Mr Ludbrook outside captured him standing in the backyard naked at 12.27pm and 12.30pm were played to the jury. Ms Davidson told the court Ms Baker arrived shortly before 1pm, explaining she was concerned for him because he hadn't answered his phone and she was aware he split with his girlfriend two days earlier. 'I asked if he would put some clothes on because we had a guest, he said he was far past the point of caring,' she said. A short time later, Ms Davidson said she and Ms Baker were in the kitchen as Mr Ludbrook retrieved a wood-handled streak knife and took it back to his bedroom. She told the jury she was concerned and followed 'trying to plead with him to give it to me' and watched as he stabbed himself in the abdomen multiple times while in bed. Ms Davidson said the two women attempted to stop Mr Ludbrook but, realising the situation was out-of-control, she left to call triple-0. 'I heard her scream … she was terrified,' she said, breaking down in tears. 'She essentially was calling out for me, sorry, not to leave her.' Ms Davidson said she pushed back into the bedroom and saw Ms Baker on the ground as Mr Ludbrook 'was lunging at her with the knife many, many times'. She said she attempted to pull him away and the accused man turned and 'stabbed towards me'. 'Did he make contact?' crown prosecutor Jim Shaw asked. She responded: 'No, I still don't understand how.' Audio of two triple-0 calls were played to the jury, timed at 1.09pm, as Ms Davidson urgently requested police and an ambulance. She told the court after the call, she went back inside to check on Ms Baker and saw Mr Ludbrook in the backyard next to the daisy bush. 'I called out to Autumn saying 'are you OK, help is on the way',' she said. 'She wasn't responding, she wasn't moving, she wasn't saying anything, she had her eyes closed.' Ms Davidson agreed that Mr Ludbrook had never expressed anything other than like for Ms Baker. She told the court she 'considered him family' and had offered to become his carer in July 2022 because she wanted to help. In her opening statement to the jury on Monday, Mr Ludbrook's barrister Emily Clark said it was not disputed that he caused her death or that he'd taken the illicit drug eticyclidine, or PCE, to manage his chronic pain. 'The question is whether at the time he did those acts that caused the death of Ms Baker, he was doing that consciously, voluntarily and deliberately, or was he so affected by PCE that he wasn't capable of acting and thinking in that way,' she said. 'For you to find Mr Ludbrook guilty of either murder or manslaughter, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Ludbrook's acts when he caused the death of Ms Baker were committed consciously, voluntarily and deliberately, and that is not agreed.'
The Australian
2 days ago
- The Australian
Mark Ludbrook accused of murdering friend Autumn Baker with steak knife
A woman was knifed to death after attempting to stop a friend from stabbing himself in the stomach while in a drug-affected state, a court has been told. Partially paralysed, Mark Ludbrook, 53, appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday using a motorised wheelchair as his trial over the death of Autumn Baker began. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, with his defence barrister Emily Clark telling the jury Mr Ludbrook was not acting consciously, voluntarily or deliberately when he caused her death. Outlining the prosecution case, crown prosecutor Jim Shaw said it was alleged Mr Ludbrook murdered Ms Baker by stabbing her twice in the chest with a steak knife in the afternoon of August 3, 2023. He told the court it was the crown's case the pair were friends, with Ms Baker arriving at his Hoppers Crossing home about 12.55pm for an unannounced social visit. Mark Ludbrook allegedly killed Autumn Baker with a steak knife. Picture: NewsWire/Ian Currie But Mr Shaw said he expects Mr Ludbrook's carer, Amber Davidson, to give evidence he was acting 'irrationally' and 'strangely' from earlier that morning. He told the court Mr Ludbrook had been diagnosed the year prior with a rare neurological condition affecting the spine, transverse myelitis, leaving him mostly wheelchair-bound and in need of carers. 'He needed them because he could only walk a few steps at a time,' the prosecutor said. Mr Shaw alleged Mr Ludbrook had turned to the illicit drugs ketamine and eticyclidine, or PCE, to manage his chronic pain and had taken PCE earlier that day. Mr Shaw said he expects Ms Davidson will give evidence she watched Mr Ludbook undress, walk naked through the house and into the backyard 'where he continued to behave irrationally'. 'Ms Davidson was concerned; she took a couple of short videos of him standing in the backyard naked and saying strange things,' he told the jury. The incident allegedly unfolded at Mr Ludbrook's Hoppers Crossing home. Picture NewsWire / Aaron Francis A short time after Ms Baker arrived, Mr Shaw said it was alleged Mr Ludbrook took a steak knife from the kitchen draw and walk back to his bedroom. He said Ms Davidson followed out of concern, and found the accused man lying, still naked, 'poking himself in the stomach'. The jury was told the two women attempted to stop Mr Ludbook and Ms Davidson stepped out to call triple-0, only to hear Ms Baker scream. Mr Shaw said she re-entered the bedroom to allegedly find Mr Ludbrook standing over Ms Baker and was chased out of the room. Three minutes of body worn footage played to the jury captured the moment a police officer searching the home found Ms Baker lying on the floor covered with blood. 'Oh s--t,' the officer could be heard exclaiming. 'She's not conscious, not breathing… she was stabbed in the chest.' The jury was told Mr Ludbrook was restrained and sedated in the backyard and was taken to hospital with self-inflicted knife wounds. Mr Ludbrook has pleaded not guilty. Picture: NewsWire / Nadir Kinani In response, Ms Clark described what happened to Ms Baker as a 'terrible, terrible tragedy' and said Mr Ludbrook agreed he was the one that caused her death. She said the defence did not dispute that Mr Ludbrook had taken PCE earlier that day, was behaving strangely and saying bizarre things, and that there was not a background of arguments and disagreements in his friendship with Ms Baker. 'What's not agreed is that Mr Ludbrook intended to cause harm to Autumn Baker,' the defence barrister said. 'What's not agreed that when he caused her harm he was in control of his actions; in a right mind.' Ms Clark said the defence would be calling two expert witnesses, a forensic psychiatrist and an anesthetist, to give opinions on Mr Ludbrook's state of mind. 'Mr Ludbrook does not agree he was acting in a conscious, voluntary and deliberate way when he caused the death of Ms Baker,' she said. 'What is in issue in this trial is the state of mind of Mark Ludbrook… Or was he so affected by PCE he was incapable.' The trial continues. Liam Beatty Journalist Liam Beatty is a court reporter with NCA NewsWire. He has previously worked in newsrooms in Victoria and Western Australia. Liam Beatty
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Autumn's gruesome last moments are revealed - as a jury is told how she was allegedly butchered by a naked killer in the most horrific way
A woman looking to rent a room with her mate was brutally butchered by him in a drug-fuelled frenzy, a jury has heard. Autumn Baker, 40, of Darley - about 60km north-west of Melbourne - was allegedly murdered by Mark Graham Ludbrook on August 3, 2023. In opening the Supreme Court of Victoria murder trial on Monday, Crown prosecutor Jim Shaw guided the jury through the final moments of Ms Baker's life. The court heard Ms Baker had been friends with Ludbrook when she made the fateful call to visit the Hoppers Crossing home where he had offered her accommodation. The jury was shown graphic body-worn camera footage captured by an officer who attended the bloody scene. The footage showed Ms Baker's blood-soaked body on the floor of Ludbrook's bedroom, with a steak knife resting on her chest. The jury heard Ms Baker had fought for her life, with stab wounds to both arms and hands. She had sustained multiple stab wounds to her chest, with both of her eyes targeted by the alleged killer. The court heard Ludbrook suffered from a rare condition known as Transverse Myelitis - a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord - and had been confined to a wheelchair leading up to the alleged murder. But on the day of the attack, Ludbrook's carer noted he was up and about on his feet and his behaviour was unusual. Ludbrook had stripped naked and was ranting incoherently in his backyard when Ms Baker knocked on the door, Mr Shaw said. The court heard the two concerned women discussed what they ought to do when Ludbrook went to the kitchen and pulled open the cutlery drawer. Confronted by his carer, Ludbrook took a steak knife out and took it back to his bedroom where he began stabbing himself in the stomach, the court was told. When his carer and Ms Baker tried to intervene, Ludbrook is accused of lashing out. The jury heard he turned on Ms Baker as his carer fled the bedroom to call police. '(She) heard Ms Baker scream and (when) she went back into the accused's bedroom, she could only get part of the way in,' Mr Shaw told the court. 'Autumn Baker was on the floor, on her back - flat on her back. The accused was standing over her ... stabbing Ms Baker with the steak knife.' When Ludbrook's carer again tried to intervene he thrust at her with the knife, forcing her to retreat, the court was told. '(She) asked the operator to send emergency services and while she was on this call - she was still just right outside the bedroom door - she could hear Autumn Baker screaming for help,' Mr Shaw said. Moments later Ludbrook emerged from his room, still naked and covered in blood, the jury heard. '(His carer) saw that and ran out of the house to get away from him,' Mr Shaw said. 'The accused followed her into the backyard - again talking irrationally, things that didn't make sense.' The court heard she ran for her life, but returned through the front door to find Ms Baker covered in blood and unresponsive. When police arrived, Ludbrook was seen covered in blood, dashing from his bedroom through the house and into the backyard, where he was arrested. Mr Shaw said a search of Ludbrook's house turned up bags of white powder later identified as an illicit drug named PCE - a dissociative anaesthetic with hallucinogenic effects. Police allege Ludbrook had been using the drug to help with pain relief. Mr Shaw said Ludbrook knew what he was doing when he repeatedly plunged the steak knife into Ms Baker. 'Blood and urine samples were collected from him at the hospital and ... they show that the accused had ketamine and the other drug I told you about, PCE, in his system,' he said. 'And the quantities suggest he had it in his system at the time of this incident.' While most of the ketamine was likely administered by paramedics at the scene, Mr Shaw said the PCE was taken by him voluntarily on the morning of the attack. In offering a brief defence, Ludbrook's barrister Emily Clark described the attack as a 'terrible tragedy'. She told the jury most of what happened that day was not in dispute, admitting Ludbrook had stabbed Ms Baker to death. However, Ms Clark claimed Ludbrook was out of control when he killed his friend and therefore could not be found guilty of either murder or manslaughter. Ms Clark said the prosecution needed to prove Ludbrook's state of mind at the time of the killing was that he intended to kill Ms Baker. 'It is absolutely not agreed that he intended to kill Ms Baker or cause her really serious injury or that he knew that was a probable result of his actions,' she said. 'The question for you is not a moral or ethical one about why he took an illegal drug, whether that was the right thing to do. 'The question is whether at the time he did those acts that caused the death of Ms Baker, he was doing that consciously, voluntarily and deliberately. 'Or was he so affected by the PCE that he wasn't capable of acting and thinking in that way? 'That's the question you need to answer.' The jury heard at the conclusion of the prosecution case, the defence would call forensic psychiatrists to back their claims. The trial continues.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- News.com.au
Mark Ludbrook accused of murdering friend Autumn Baker with steak knife
A woman was knifed to death after attempting to stop a friend from stabbing himself in the stomach while in a drug-affected state, a court has been told. Partially paralysed, Mark Ludbrook, 53, appeared in the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday using a motorised wheelchair as his trial over the death of Autumn Baker began. He has pleaded not guilty to murder, with his defence barrister Emily Clark telling the jury Mr Ludbrook was not acting consciously, voluntarily or deliberately when he caused her death. Outlining the prosecution case, crown prosecutor Jim Shaw said it was alleged Mr Ludbrook murdered Ms Baker by stabbing her twice in the chest with a steak knife in the afternoon of August 3, 2023. He told the court it was the crown's case the pair were friends, with Ms Baker arriving at his Hoppers Crossing home about 12.55pm for an unannounced social visit. But Mr Shaw said he expects Mr Ludbrook's carer, Amber Davidson, to give evidence he was acting 'irrationally' and 'strangely' from earlier that morning. He told the court Mr Ludbrook had been diagnosed the year prior with a rare neurological condition affecting the spine, transverse myelitis, leaving him mostly wheelchair-bound and in need of carers. 'He needed them because he could only walk a few steps at a time,' the prosecutor said. Mr Shaw alleged Mr Ludbrook had turned to the illicit drugs ketamine and eticyclidine, or PCE, to manage his chronic pain and had taken PCE earlier that day. Mr Shaw said he expects Ms Davidson will give evidence she watched Mr Ludbook undress, walk naked through the house and into the backyard 'where he continued to behave irrationally'. 'Ms Davidson was concerned; she took a couple of short videos of him standing in the backyard naked and saying strange things,' he told the jury. A short time after Ms Baker arrived, Mr Shaw said it was alleged Mr Ludbrook took a steak knife from the kitchen draw and walk back to his bedroom. He said Ms Davidson followed out of concern, and found the accused man lying, still naked, 'poking himself in the stomach'. The jury was told the two women attempted to stop Mr Ludbook and Ms Davidson stepped out to call triple-0, only to hear Ms Baker scream. Mr Shaw said she re-entered the bedroom to allegedly find Mr Ludbrook standing over Ms Baker and was chased out of the room. Three minutes of body worn footage played to the jury captured the moment a police officer searching the home found Ms Baker lying on the floor covered with blood. 'Oh s--t,' the officer could be heard exclaiming. 'She's not conscious, not breathing… she was stabbed in the chest.' The jury was told Mr Ludbrook was restrained and sedated in the backyard and was taken to hospital with self-inflicted knife wounds. In response, Ms Clark described what happened to Ms Baker as a 'terrible, terrible tragedy' and said Mr Ludbrook agreed he was the one that caused her death. She said the defence did not dispute that Mr Ludbrook had taken PCE earlier that day, was behaving strangely and saying bizarre things, and that there was a background of arguments and disagreements in his friendship with Ms Baker. 'What's not agreed is that Mr Ludbrook intended to cause harm to Autumn Baker,' the defence barrister said. 'What's not agreed that when he caused her harm he was in control of his actions; in a right mind.' Ms Clark said the defence would be calling two expert witnesses, a forensic psychiatrist and an anesthetist, to give opinions on Mr Ludbrook's state of mind. 'Mr Ludbrook does not agree he was acting in a conscious, voluntary and deliberate way when he caused the death of Ms Baker,' she said. 'What is in issue in this trial is the state of mind of Mark Ludbrook… Or was he so affected by PCE he was incapable.'
