Man who claimed he had ‘special powers to identify paedophiles’ before stabbing a stranger to death at a bus stop is found not guilty of murder
- Ben Daly, 30, stabbed Ian Michael Baz Bosch once in the neck in Coolbellup
- Daly has been found not guilty of murder due to his mental health issues
- He claimed he had ‘special powers to identify paedophiles’ before the attack
A man who claimed he had ‘special powers to identify paedophiles’ before stabbing a stranger to death at a bus stop has been found not guilty of murder.
Ben Daly, 30, stabbed Ian Michael Baz Bosch, 43, once in the neck in Coolbellup in November 2016.
The father of two died in hospital three days later.
Daly admits he stabbed the 43-year-old, but says he has no recollection of the sudden attack.
Ben Daly, 30, (pictured) stabbed Ian Michael Baz Bosch once in the neck in Coolbellup in November 2016
In September forensic psychiatrist Victoria Pascu testified at Daly’s trial by judge in the WA Supreme Court.
She said the accused reported only remembering leaving home through his bedroom window and returning.
He claimed he didn’t know what he did in the meantime or why, she said.
Dr Pascu said people suffering his kind of mental illness sometimes had ‘black holes’ in their memory.
She said Daly, a paranoid schizophrenic, had been psychotic since the age of 21.
He suffered persecutory and grandiose delusions, and heard voices, believing angels were communicating with him to help him identify pedophiles.
Ian Baz-Bosch (pictured) had been on his way to buy a card for his young son’s birthday when he was stabbed and killed
Daly (pictured) admits he stabbed the 43-year-old, but says he has no recollection of the sudden attack
He also believed his ‘job’ was to be recruited by bikies ‘to save the kids’, Dr Pascu said.
‘His life at that time was driven by psychosis,’ she said.
In an interview with the psychiatrist, Daly referred to a photo of Mr Baz Bosch, which he’d seen in news reports, and said he had been killed because he was a pedophile.
During a later interview, Daly spoke of some involvement in his death but couldn’t give details, Dr Pascu said.
She said his mental health had not improved significantly since he had been sent to the high-security Frankland Centre inpatient unit at Graylands Hospital and his prognosis was not good.
Prosecutors argued that his mental illness was not reason enough and fought for him to be found guilty as he used cannabis and amphetamines.
He was also known to not take his medication.
But his lawyers successfully argued that he should not be held criminally responsible for the crime as he was deprived of the capacity to control his actions.
While Daly has been found not guilty of murder, he will kept at a psychiatric facility indefinitely for treatment.