A woman who brutally strangled and bashed her ex-fiance’s elderly neighbour to death has been found not guilty by reason of mental illness.
Marita Therese Cunningham, 50, pleaded not guilty to murdering 81-year-old May Ritchie at Freshwater on March 20 last year.
The battered body was found partially covered in newspapers, shopping bags and pillows on the floor of her unit in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Marita Therese Cunningham, 50, brutally strangled and bashed her Sydney ex-fiance’s elderly neighbour to death but was found not guilty by reason of mental illness
Reports say May Ritchie, 81, was bashed to death with her own walking stick
Justice Robert Beech-Jones found Cunningham was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder at the time and did not know what she was doing was wrong.
The judge, who heard the trial without a jury, said she ‘appeared to have become disturbed’ while drinking wine and socialising with Ms Ritchie at her apartment.
‘This was a brutal act committed on a very vulnerable person,’ he told the NSW Supreme Court on Tuesday, noting the attack ‘was a severe one’.
Cunningham will now be locked up in a mental institution.
The battered body was found partially covered in newspapers, shopping bags and pillows on the floor of her unit in Sydney ‘s northern beaches
Cunningham being interviewed by police with paper bags tied around her hands
Many of the bruises on Ms Ritchie’s body were likely caused by being hit with her own walking stick.
As she walked away from the scene, a police officer asked ‘What is with all the blood on your shirt?’
‘I’ve got my period,’ she allegedly replied.
The court earlier heard Cunningham’s mental health deteriorated in the weeks leading up to Ms Ritchie’s death.
She was allegedly seen ‘acting like a cheerleader’ on her street, lifting her top and skirt up to expose herself as cars drove past.
Ms Ritchie’s boyfriend, Bob Lyford (pictured together) in an undated photo before her death
Marita Cunningham (Centre) is led to a prison van by Corrective Service Officers last month
She allegedly hit a neighbour’s car with a cricket bat, and complained to responding police of having a possum stuck in her roof.
Cunningham was previously engaged to Ms Ritchie’s neighbour Bob Lyford, who had taken out an AVO against her after their relationship deteriorated, crown prosecutor Craig Patrick SC said.
On the afternoon of the alleged murder, Cunningham turned up at Mr Lyford’s house to watch football, saying the AVO had expired.
‘F*** off I never want to see you again,’ Mr Lyford allegedly told her.
Instead, Cunningham went across the road to drink and socialise with Ms Ritchie.
Justice Robert Beech-Jones found Cunningham was suffering from a schizoaffective disorder at the time and did not know what she was doing was wrong
Hours later Mr Lyford went to check on his elderly neighbour. He saw the accused standing in the lounge room but no sign of Ms Ritchie.
A post-mortem examination found she died from asphyxiation, had blunt force injuries to her face and scalp, and defence-type injuries on hands.
Cunningham appeared ‘confused,’ ‘slurring her speech’ and ‘talking about possums in her roof’ at the police station after her arrest, Mr Patrick said.
When officers told her of the charges, she allegedly replied ‘What, she’s dead?’