Alex McEwan suffers from treatment-resistant schizophrenia and has been urged to attack a prosecutor by a ‘demon’ named Jazzy, a court has heard.
The Brisbane Supreme Court also heard the 23-year-old had experienced a recurring nightmare where he was being dragged into a portal to hell by demons and the devil.
The man accused of Eunji Ban’s bashing murder is on trial after pleading not guilty to murdering the 22-year-old Korean woman in Brisbane’s CBD in 2013.
Halfway through the second week of the trial, Justice Jean Dalton told the jury on Wednesday there was a ‘real and substantial’ question about McEwan’s state of mind and whether he was able to continue.
Alex Reuben McEwan, 23, (illustration) is accused of Eunji Ban’s bashing murder. He is on trial after pleading not guilty to murdering the 22-year-old Korean woman in Brisbane’s CBD in 2013
As such, the court effectively began a ‘trial within a trial’ to determine the issue, with two psychiatrists giving evidence about his mental health.
Dr Donald Grant said McEwan told him a demon named Jazzy was present during a conversation on Wednesday morning, taunting him about coming ‘unstuck’ in court.
‘He said he was hearing Jazzy instructing him to jump over and attack the prosecutor,’ Dr Grant said.
‘He said (McEwan) decided, instead of harming anyone else, he would punch his face.’
Dr Grant said McEwan suffered from a ‘severe illness’, was on high doses of three types of antipsychotic medication and had undergone more than 30 sessions of electro-convulsive therapy in the past.
The man accused of Eunji Ban’s (pictured) bashing murder is on trial after pleading not guilty to murdering the 22-year-old Korean woman in Brisbane’s CBD in 2013
The parents of murdered Korean student Eunji Ban outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane
The latter yielded mild and temporary reprieve from his symptoms, which also includes another hallucinatory demon named Dren, it was heard.
He said McEwan had twice attacked people – once in a hospital and once in prison – but also noted a recent ability to appreciate his experiences as signs of mental illness, rather than a ‘contest between heaven and hell’.
‘I believe that they are real symptoms and I do believe he wants to get this trial over … he said I want to push through this, but in my opinion, he can’t because he is too unwell at the moment,’ Dr Grant said.
Earlier, McEwan’s treating psychiatrist, Dr Julian Dodemaide, testified McEwan’s symptoms would likely become a ‘hindrance’ to his ability to engage in cross-examination.
The court has heard it is not in contention that McEwan killed Ms Ban (pictured), but the trial is necessary to determine his mental state at the time and whether or not relevant legal defences, such as insanity, apply
A corrective officer also said she observed McEwan hit himself in the head ‘a couple of times’ in the dock on Tuesday, when the jurors were not in their seats.
Under the current process, jurors will be required to answer the question: ‘Is the defendant of sufficiently sound mind so as to be fit for trial?’.
The court has heard it is not in contention that McEwan killed Ms Ban, but the trial is necessary to determine his mental state at the time and whether or not relevant legal defences, such as insanity, apply.
Notably, the so-called ‘trial within a trial’ relates to his present state of mind, as distinct from that at the time of the alleged offence.
The trial continues.
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