May he never, ever be free. http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,22602275-29277,00.html A MENTAL health patient has been ordered to stand trial for the decapitation murder of Armidale war veteran Mark Hutchinson. Matthew James Woodroffe-Hill, 41, a former resident of Tamworth's Banksia Mental Health Unit, appeared before Magistrate Michael Holmes in Armidale Local Court today via an audio visual link. Mr Holmes committed him to stand trial in the NSW Supreme Court, where he will be asked to enter a plea on December 7. Mr Hutchinson's body was discovered in the backyard of his home in Markham Street, Armidale, northern NSW, about 2pm (AEST) on January 13. The veteran was a former artillery gunner who served in Papua New Guinea and Borneo. He had lived alone since 1985 and was known to his local community as a quiet but friendly man respected for his work with the local RSL and legacy war widows.
A very sad story indeed. One of the top news stories recently here was of a mental patient who was obbessed with the devil and killed a CofE priest but at the trial the verdict was one of manslaughter and not of murder.
The state of care provision has collapsed in this country. As Adrian will probably tell you, those responsible for the direct care are so streched and lack so many resources, that even assessments of potential dangers are sometimes impossible. I used to know a lot of ASWs, and they always suffered the backlash when incidents like these occurred.
