Teen found not criminally responsible over stabbing death at Scientology headquarters
A court has found a teenager who stabbed a man to death at the Church of Scientology headquarters in Sydney is not criminally responsible because he was living with schizophrenia.
Key points:
Church member Chih-Jen Yeh died after being stabbed in the neck during an altercation
The teenager had previously been found not fit to stand trial
Justice Hament Danji ordered the teenager continue to be detained under the mental health act
The Taiwanese national was 16 years old when he used a knife to stab 24-year-old Chih-Jen Yeh in the neck during an altercation on the Church of Scientology driveway in Chatswood on January 3, 2019.
He also wounded 30-year-old security guard Shannon Vaughan during the incident.
The court heard that during the confrontation the boy had been demanding to see a certain Scientology staff member, screaming in Mandarin: "I'll give you two minutes to find him otherwise I'll kill everyone else here."
The teenager had previously been found not fit to stand trial on the grounds of mental illness.
In a special Supreme Court hearing Justice Hament Danji found the acts the accused had been charged with were proven, but he was not criminally responsible because he would not have known what he was doing was wrong.
The Supreme Court heard the confrontation happened a day after the teenager's mother had deleted data from his mp3 player, because a Scientology staff member told her the boy had been reading a novel with pornographic and violent themes.
After discovering the data had been deleted the boy had assaulted his mother in a classroom at the church, before being escorted home by staff members.
The teenager returned to the church the next day, demanding to see one of the staff members who had promised to help him restore the novel.
CCTV images captured the boy pulling his T-shirt over the handle of a 14.6cm long knife in his pocket, before he was stopped by Mr Vaughan, an interpreter and church member Chih-Jen Yeh.
The court heard the footage showed the teenager swinging the knife in an overarm style at Mr Vaughan, slashing his hand as he put his arms up in self defence.
After several swings he then turned the knife towards Chih-Jen Yeh, who fell to the ground after he was sliced across his neck.
As Chih-Jen Yeh lay bleeding and unconscious on the driveway, the teenager again demanded to see the staff member who'd promised to help him restore the data.
The standoff continued until police arrived and told the teenager to drop the knife.
He was arrested and later charged with murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The court heard two psychiatrists had assessed the accused as living with schizophrenia at the time of the crime, including disturbances in his thought, mood and perception.
Both experts agreed that the accused lacked the capacity to know what he was doing was wrong, and the judge concurred with their advice.
After handing down his verdict Justice Danji ordered that the teenager continue to be detained under the mental health act.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-23/teen-not-criminally-responsible-for-death-at-scientology-hq/100643204