'Samurai sword killer' who sliced up his brother in a Westfield car park and then went on the run for two years is found NOT GUILTY of murder
- Jonathan Dick allegedly murdered his brother in David Dick in February 2017
- Dick, 42, is accused of killing his sibling with a samurai sword and a knife
- He was found not guilty of murder on Thursday by way of mental impairment
A man who killed his brother with a samurai sword under the grip of delusions about time travel, the Ku Klux Klan and aliens has been found not guilty of murder.
Jonathan Dick became one of Australia's most wanted fugitives when he went on the run after slashing his brother David to death with a knife and samurai sword at Melbourne's Westfield Doncaster shopping centre car park in February 2017.
He remerged in August the following year to try to kill his long-time friend David Cammarata with a pick hammer outside the man's Keilor home, telling him 'you had this coming'.
Jonathan Dick (left) became one of Australia's most wanted fugitives when he went on the run after slashing his brother David (right) to death with a knife and samurai sword at Melbourne's Westfield Doncaster shopping centre car park in February 2017
A man believed to be Dick was caught on CCTV heading into an elevator at the Westfield where his brother was murdered
Dick went back on the run and was caught a year later while stalking Mr Cammarata in a CBD car park.
Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry on Thursday found the 42-year-old not guilty of murdering David Dick, and attempting to murder and stalking David Cammarata, by way of mental impairment.
Dick has paranoid schizophrenia and was convinced he was pre-destined to kill his brother under instructions from their father, the court was previously told.
Share this article
The killer feared he and others would be seriously harmed, or even die, if he didn't go through with it and also believed he'd be transported to the future afterwards so he could avoid jail.
Dick's mental illness meant he developed a series of false memories from his childhood, including that his brother and then-classmate Mr Cammarata had been part of a schoolyard attack on him linked to the Ku Klux Klan and Hells Angels bikie group.
He also had delusions about aliens, hip hop records and September 11.
Dick's mental state improved significantly in custody with medication and he no longer believed the delusions, forensic psychiatrist Rajan Darjee told the court.
Dick (pictured) went back on the run and was caught a year later while stalking Mr Cammarata in a CBD car park
'He was also quite confused because for quite a period of years, these kind of bizarre memories had been as much memories to him as his true biographical memories,' Dr Darjee said on Tuesday.
Justice Lasry accepted Dick's mental state at the time of the murder, attempted murder and stalking meant he did not know what he was doing was wrong.
The killer remains in custody in a mental health unit and will return to court at a later date.
Dick became one of Australia's most wanted fugitives after going on the run after his brother's murder.
He was chased down and arrested after Mr Cammarata spotted him lurking in a CBD car park in August last year.
He was doing better in prison because of medication, and his delusional memories had disappeared entirely, Dr Darjee said in court on Monday.
He was chased down and arrested after Mr Cammarata spotted him lurking in a CBD car park in August last year
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
