'I would never hurt you': Chilling texts of a crazed killer who thought he was Jesus before he attacked his girlfriend with scissors and strangled her with tracksuit pants to make sure she was dead
- Caitlin O'Brien, 31, was murdered at her Melbourne home on June 25, 2019
- Her boyfriend Shea Sturt, now 33, pleaded guilty to murder at court in March
- About a month before she was killed Ms O'Brien had a brain tumour removed
- Chilling text messages revealed that she was afraid of Shea murdering her
Shea Sturt (pictured), 33, was in a drug-induced psychotic state when he killed 31-year-old Caitlin O'Brien at their Melbourne home in June 2019
A deranged killer sent chilling texts to his girlfriend before attacking her with scissors, smothering her with a pillow and strangling her with tracksuit pants to make sure she was dead.
Shea Sturt, 33, was in a drug-induced psychotic state when he killed 31-year-old Caitlin O'Brien at their Melbourne home in June 2019.
About a month before she died the nurse survived a brain tumour scare, but always lived in fear of her violent and increasingly erratic boyfriend.
She called police two days before the murder, when Sturt began having delusions he was Jesus.
He also forced Ms O'Brien to eat an apple so she could be like Eve and be enlightened. Sturt was taken to hospital but released that night.
'I would never hurt you,' he told Ms O'Brien in a text to which she replied 'I hope so. I get scared'.
Ms O'Brien, 31, (pictured) was found dead on June 25, 2019 in her apartment at Gardenvale, in southeast Melbourne
A murderer sent chilling texts to his girlfriend before attacking her with scissors, smothering her with a pillow and strangling her with tracksuit pants
'Of what?' he asked.
'Of you murdering me,' she said.
On June 25, Sturt went into the couple's Gardenvale bedroom talking about the end of the world.
He started to pull Ms O'Brien's pants off to see if he was still attracted to her but she fought back and armed herself with a pair of scissors before Sturt turned them against her.
He held a pillow over her face until she lost consciousness.
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Sturt then tied a pair of tracksuit pants around Ms O'Brien's neck to make sure she was dead.
He had a long history of violence towards his girlfriend before killing her amid a cannabis-induced psychotic state, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to murder in March.
After killing Ms O'Brien, Sturt showered, went into the city and approached police saying: 'I just killed my girlfriend.'
About a month before she died the nurse had a brain tumour removed (pictured) but always lived in fear of her violent and increasingly erratic boyfriend
Caitlin O'Brien, 31, messaged a friend on June 24, 2019 saying her boyfriend Shea Dylan Sturt, 32, was having delusions he was Jesus and she was scared to be around him
'No you didn't,' the officers replied before Ms O'Brien's body was found on her bed.
Sturt has since been diagnosed with schizotypal personality disorder.
He told police 'in that moment, it (the murder) felt like the right thing to do'.
Shea Dylan Sturt (pictured) pleaded guilty to murder at Melbourne Magistrate's Court on Friday
'I know it sounds horrible,' he said.
'It just felt necessary at the time ... like everything was leading up to that.'
He said Ms O'Brien was a psychopath and he confronted her that morning, saying: 'You've been killing people.'
Sturt was profoundly remorseful for what he did, his legal aid lawyer Tim Marsh told the court.
He said Sturt was deeply affected when he read a statement by Ms O'Brien's mother, who described losing part of her soul when her daughter died.
Her killer accepted he had lost the chance for a normal life and acknowledged it was the price he must pay.
He has participated in numerous prison programs, including a drug and alcohol program, and was working in the laundry.
In the hours before her death Sturt had shared a series of bizarre messages on his Facebook page, revealing he was losing his grasp on reality.
In the hours before her death Shea Dylan Sturt shared a series of bizarre messages on his Facebook page, revealing he was losing his grasp on reality
That same day of Caitlin O'Brien's murder her boyfriend posted a series of cryptic messages (pictured) on Facebook, including 'You made me kill 'the devil' because you saw her in yourself'
The posts included messages like 'you can't rape humanity away,' 'Sacrifice is beautiful but only ever for the right reasons,' and 'I forgive you'.
He also posted a video of a stand-up routine by Owen Benjamin called 'How To Be Married and Not Be Murdered'.
The mental instability was something O'Brien raised alarm about in a message exchange with her friend the day before she was killed.
'Shea's out of his mind. Having delusions he is Jesus. I'm just scared to be around him. He's not making sense at all. He forced me to eat an apple today so I could be like Adam and Eve and be enlightened,' she wrote.
Court proceedings reveal the young nurse endured years of abuse and sexual
Sturt remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
'Caitlin was a quiet but cheery girl who was extremely passionate about caring for others, which showed in the way she cared for her patients and their families,' a friend said
