'Scary this can happen': Woman dies after Grey Lynn assault, person in custody. Video / Hayden Woodward
A West Auckland resident with not-yet-diagnosed schizophrenia thought he was battling “an evil presence” when he beat 62-year-old Cecilia Ozyurteri to death in her driveway one year ago.
Details of the fatal attack were disclosed in court for the first time today as the man, who cannot yet be identified, was ordered by a High Court at Auckland judge to be held indefinitely at a lockdown psychiatric facility.
The 32-year-old was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity in May during a short hearing in which his lawyer and prosecutors agreed that should be the outcome.
Today’s disposition hearing had three potential outcomes: an order that he remains at the Mason Clinic as a “special patient”, ineligible for release unless authorised by the national director of mental health; a less restrictive “patient order” in which he would be released only when his clinicians think it is safe; or an order allowing him to be released from the facility immediately.
Unsurprisingly, neither side was seeking the third option, Justice Mathew Downs noted while announcing his decision.
Crown prosecutor Fiona Culliney sought the special patient order, while defence lawyer David Hoskin didn’t outright disagree but suggested the least restrictive outcome might be treatment as a patient order - especially now that his client has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has an outpouring of support from his family.
“I have no doubt a special patient order is necessary in the interest of the public,” Justice Downs replied. “This would amount to murder but for insanity.”
Police investigate a property in Grey Lynn where Cecilia Ozyurteri, 62, was found dead. Photo / Lincoln Tan
Bystanders came upon the man attacking Ozyurteri in the driveway of her Grey Lynn home at about 8.25am on Saturday, July 9, 2022. Witnesses said he straddled her and continued to punch her in the head even after she had lost consciousness, the judge recounted, noting that an off-duty surgeon tried to save Ozyurteri but was unable to.
“You left [Ozyurteri] unconscious and covered in blood in the driveway,” the judge said, noting that he was then seen jumping in and out of a window to the residence.
In addition to his delusion that the woman was an evil presence, he believed her neighbours were also forces of good and evil. That disordered thinking could have resulted in attacks on others that day and in the future if there is a relapse, the judge said.
“Your treatment requires a highly structured environment and much time and resources,” Downs said.
Ozyurteri was remembered by her family today as a deeply religious “prayer warrior” and a “straight shooter with a huge heart”.
“She was strong, bold, fearless and unapologetic - especially when it came to her faith in God,” one family member said as two victim impact statements were read aloud in court. “Our family has been left heartbroken and devastated by her untimely departure.”
She encouraged the man sitting in the dock beside her to follow Ozyurteri’s example and “seek a personal relationship with God yourself” as he works to get better.
In an unusual scene, both the Crown and the man’s lawyer sought permanent name suppression for the man today. But Justice Downs disagreed that the arguments for continuing suppression outweighed the need for open justice in a case as serious as the killing of another person.
He declined the permanent name suppression bids but allowed interim suppression to continue for five more weeks so that the man can prepare for his identification.
Details of the name suppression arguments cannot yet be reported without the risk of identifying the man.
Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.
