Brisbane man guilty of murdering Korean woman in CBD
Relatives of Korean woman Eunji Ban have hugged and wept in a Brisbane court after a jury found her killer guilty of murder.
Alex Reuben McEwan admitted killing Ms Ban in November 2013 but pleaded not guilty to murder on mental health grounds.
But a Supreme Court jury rejected claims his schizophrenia left him unable to control himself, convicting him of murder by punching, kicking and strangling her as she walked to her cleaning job.
Members of Ms Ban's family embraced each other and shed tears as the verdict was delivered.
McEwan had claimed he was possessed by a demon when he attacked the 22-year-old near her Roma Street Parklands unit in the early hours of November 24, 2013.
McEwan, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia after his arrest, told the court he tried but could not prevent himself from attacking Ms Ban.
However, three psychiatrists gave evidence during the trial that they did not believe McEwan was suffering the effects of schizophrenia at the time of the killing.
McEwan's trial was part-heard last year before being abandoned when he claimed two demons told him to attack crown prosecutor David Meredith.
McEwan, from inner Brisbane suburb Spring Hill, had been drinking with friends the night before the killing, waking up the next day and walking the streets near Ms Ban's home.
He randomly attacked her before she could fight back - punching, kicking and strangling her to death.
He dragged her body up stairs to the nearby Wickham Park and dumped it by a tree, which he decorated with clumps of her hair.
The trial heard Ms Ban was beaten so badly she drowned in her own blood.
McEwan told police he had set out that morning to kill, and said to a friend he "just felt like" killing someone.
McEwan will be sentenced by Justice Roslyn Atkinson on Thursday.
AAP