Man found insane - not guilty

A Rotorua man has been found not guilty of the manslaughter of a Rotorua Hospital psychiatric ward patient on the grounds of insanity.

Believing she was infested with aliens, the man, who has permanent name suppression, pushed 51-year-old Maara Albert who fell, hit her head and died of a blood clot to the brain.

He appeared in the High Court at Rotorua yesterday, having previously pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Maara Albert on the grounds of insanity.

At the end of a hearing yesterday Justice Paul Heath found the man was insane at the time of the incident at the hospital on April 13 last year.

His finding came after Rotorua Crown Solicitor Fletcher Pilditch agreed that the verdict of not guilty on the grounds of insanity was the only reasonable verdict.

In his decision Justice Heath talked about the circumstances leading up to the tragic event.

He said before the man was taken to the hospital's psychiatric ward he feared aliens were trying to kill him. He took an axe to his letterbox to show the aliens he was ready.

Justice Heath said when the man was at the hospital ward he thought Ms Albert was looking at him in an evil way. He saw red rays in her eyes and believed she was going to attack him. He also thought her abdomen was infested with aliens.

He pushed her and she fell, hitting her head on the ground, and died as the result of a blood clot to her brain.

Witnesses said they saw the man punch Ms Albert rather than push her.

Justice Health described the incident as a low level assault.

Psychiatrists who saw the man after the incident found that he was insane at the time.

He was suffering a disease of the mind described as a relapse of an "acute schizo-effective disorder". He had lost contact with reality and was incapable of knowing his actions were morally wrong.

Justice Heath has remanded the man into the care of Hamilton's Henry Bennett Centre which is a psychiatric hospital. He will not be allowed to be released until medical experts say he can.

Justice Heath said although the focus had been on the man it should not be thought that the tragedy that occurred to Ms Albert would be forgotten by anyone.

The man was represented by Peter Williams, QC, and he had several supporters in court with him. None of Ms Albert's family were in court.