A man who stabbed another man to death with a screwdriver in Adelaide’s northern suburbs three years ago has been found not guilty of murder due to mental incompetence.
Key points:
- Stabbing victim Nathan Clark was found lying face down in a pool of blood at his unit in 2019
- A court found William Robert Delany had stabbed him, but was suffering from schizophrenia and had not taken his anti-psychotic medication
- The court issued a supervision order to detain him in a mental health facility
Nathan Clark was found lying face down in a pool of blood inside his Elizabeth unit on August 19, 2019.
Supreme Court Justice Kevin Nicholson found William Robert Delany killed Mr Clark, but found him not guilty of murder.
He found Mr Delany was suffering from the psychiatric illness of schizophrenia and was psychotic at the time of his offending — a finding supported by two psychiatrists and a doctor.
Mr Delany was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 2015 and has a long history of psychotic relapses.
The court previously heard Mr Delany had not taken his anti-psychotic medication in the three months prior to the death of Mr Clark.
According to expert evidence, Mr Delany had enough methylamphetamine in his system to cause drug-induced psychosis.
The Supreme Court today imposed a supervision order detaining Mr Delany for life in a mental health facility.
‘My life is shattered’, victim’s father says
The court previously heard Mr Delany believed people were trying to harm him, and that the radio was talking to him and making threats towards him.
It also heard that he believed he was communicating with Satan and that he was being possessed by a demon.
In an emotional victim impact statement, the victim’s father, Peter Clark, said he had “found myself unable to understand why this tragedy occurred”, and that his son’s violent death was something “no parent should have to go through”.
“Nathan, I loved you with all of my heart,” Mr Clark said.
“You grew up so happy, always with a smile.
“I did not keep my dying father’s wish of keeping my children safe during my lifetime.”
Mr Clark added that it was “hard to accept” his son was “no longer here”.
“My life is shattered,” he said.
The victim’s brother, Jason Clark, also read a statement to the court.
“The phone call to my dad shortly after the police left will be the hardest thing I hope to ever do,” he said.
