Son who stabbed his AFL coach father to death during a psychotic episode is allowed to leave a mental asylum unsupervised after just six years despite inflicting 20 knife wounds
- Cy Walsh successfully lobbied courts to allow him unsupervised release
- Six years ago he stabbed his father to death in case that shocked Australia
- The Adelaide Crows coach, Phil Walsh, died after receiving over 20 stab wounds
- His son was found not guilty of murder due to an undiagnosed mental illness
A deranged young man who stabbed his AFL coach father to death during a psychotic episode will be allowed to leave a mental asylum after just six years,
Phil Walsh, 55, was head coach of the Adelaide Crows when he was knifed over 20 times by his mentally ill son Cy in July 2015.
The grisly incident sent shockwaves through Australia’s sporting landscape and also sparked an outpouring of grief for the respected football coach.
Phil Walsh, 55 (pictured with wife Meredith), was head coach of the Adelaide Crows when he was knifed over 20 times by his mentally ill son in July 2015
Cy Walsh (pictured) has asked a court to allow him to be released back into the community unsupervised, six years after stabbing his AFL coach father to death in a frenzied attack
Walsh, who was 26 at the time, was remanded indefinitely to James Nash House mental health facility in Adelaide’s north-east after he was found not guilty of murdering his father in 2016 due to mental incompetence.
Two years later, after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he was moved to Ashton House where he could receive treatment and was granted permission for closely-supervised community release.
Walsh, now 32, applied in July to take unsupervised day leave from the low-security mental health facility, which was this week granted by the South Australian Supreme Court.
Walsh could previously only leave the facility if he was in the care of his mother and other medical staff.
A panel of court-appointed mental health experts had to sign off on the proposal in consultation with members of his family.
The grisly incident sent shockwaves through Australia’s sporting landscape and also sparked an outpouring of grief for the respected football coach. Pictured: Phil Walsh
Walsh’s lawyer Trish Johnson told the hearing in July that ‘the time had come to consider the next phase of her client’s recovery’.
‘The doctors have confirmed he’s doing well with accompanied leave, and so we now seek to move to unaccompanied leave,’ she said.
‘I ask that application be listed in two and a half months’ time, and that reports be prepared for the court just prior to that.’
During the trial, the court found Walsh had undiagnosed and untreated schizophrenia at the time of killing his father at the home in Adelaide’s beachside suburb of Somerton Park.
It was also revealed that Walsh was a heavy user of hallucinogenic drugs, which exacerbated his mental health problems.
Adelaide Crows AFL coach Phil Walsh is pictured with Cy and the rest of the family
But his legal team said he is now taking antipsychotic medication and has ‘had an excellent response’.
His mother Meredith Walsh previously told the court her wish is for her son to have a ‘normal life’.
‘She was hoping that in the future she could move with Cy and reside interstate as there was a large family support network outside of South Australia,’ a 2018 report stated.
Phil Walsh played 122 games for Collingwood, Richmond and the Brisbane Bears between 1983 and 1990.
Following assistant coach stints at Port Adelaide and West Coast, he took over as Crows head coach in 2015, recording seven wins from 12 games until his death halfway through the season.