Face of Nation : Mr Thomson, 63, died in the Flinders Medical Centre a little more than an hour after he was stabbed. During the attack, Mr Thomson rang triple zero in a desperate attempt to get help.Court documents revealed he begged not to be stabbed again while on the phone to a triple zero operator.
A Supreme Court judge today found Mr Caldwell not guilty due to mental incompetence, with a psychiatric expert noting he was suffering “repeated and prolonged periods of psychosis”.
In his judgment, Justice Martin Hinton noted Mr Caldwell told forensic psychiatrist Paul Furst he had stabbed his stepfather because he thought he was spying on him.
“[Mr Caldwell] said that he was in his room listening to music and talking to himself, which he often did to motivate himself,” Dr Furst’s report said.
“Mr Caldwell said that he had thought that Ken could read his body language and would treat him like a slave or ‘make me like a bitch for him’.” Mr Caldwell also told Dr Furst he believed Mr Thomson was recording him.
Justice Hinton’s judgment contained a transcript of the phone call Mr Thomson had made to triple zero, in which he pleaded with his stepson not to stab him again.
Police arrived six minutes after the phone call and found Mr Thomson in a bedroom with a blood-stained knife next to him. Mr Caldwell, who was 28 at the time, was arrested at the scene.
In his judgment, Justice Hinton noted that Dr Furst believed Mr Caldwell was “suffering from a mental impairment, namely paranoid schizophrenia”. In handing down his judgment, Justice Hinton ordered Mr Caldwell be detained indefinitely in a psychiatric institution.
He acknowledged the impact Mr Thomson’s death had on his family, particularly Mr Caldwell’s sister Tiffany, who had tendered a victim impact statement.
“Ms Caldwell’s loss and grief is profound. To say that she misses her father terribly is an understatement,” Justice Hinton said. Justice Hinton also said Mr Caldwell’s family had struggled to get him help prior to Mr Thomson’s stabbing.
“Ms Caldwell feels that she and her family did not get the assistance from the mental health professionals that they knew her brother needed. She does not absolve him of all responsibility,” he said. “At times he made life for her and her family, including her father, unbearable.
“Ms Caldwell appreciates that the authorities will now work with her brother to assist him to recover and maintain his mental health.”
