R v Rey Quintana (No 6) [2020] NSWSC 1732

R v Rey Quintana (No 6) [2020] NSWSC 1732

The Court inferred that the accused intentionally inflicted grievous bodily harm when he stabbed Thomas Halatoa, but the Crown failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused did not believe it was necessary to act as he did in self-defence, and failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the stabbing was not a reasonable response in the circumstances as the accused perceived them. Those circumstances included that the accused had been severely beaten, choked to unconsciousness, robbed in his own apartment by younger intruders including TK, and that his perceptions of threat and vulnerability were heightened by treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Because the Crown did not...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 December 2020
Procedural Posture
Criminal Prosecution for Murder Under S 18 of the Crimes Act 1900 (nsw) / Judge Alone Trial After Plea of Not Guilty; Verdict
Outcome
Accused found not guilty of murder and discharged.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'self Defence' 'substantial Impairment by Abnormality of Mind' 'judge Alone Trial' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'witness Reliability' 'expert Psychiatric Evidence']
['criminal Law' 'evidence' 'criminal Procedure'] ['murder' 'self Defence' 'substantial Impairment by Abnormality of Mind' 'judge Alone Trial' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'witness Reliability' 'expert Psychiatric Evidence']

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Prosecution for Murder Under S 18 of the Crimes Act 1900 (nsw) / Judge Alone Trial After Plea of Not Guilty; Verdict

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused intended to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on Thomas Halatoa when he stabbed him.' 'Whether the Crown disproved self-defence beyond reasonable doubt by proving that the accused did not believe it was necessary to do what he did to defend himself.' 'Whether the Crown proved beyond reasonable doubt that the stabbing was not a reasonable response in the circumstances as the accused perceived them.' 'Whether, if murder and negation of self-defence were established, the accused proved substantial impairment by abnormality of mind on the balance of probabilities.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Court inferred that the accused intentionally inflicted grievous bodily harm when he stabbed Thomas Halatoa, but the Crown failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused did not believe it was necessary to act as he did in self-defence, and failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the stabbing was not a reasonable response in the circumstances as the accused perceived them. Those circumstances included that the accused had been severely beaten, choked to unconsciousness, robbed in his own apartment by younger intruders including TK, and that his perceptions of threat and vulnerability were heightened by treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Because the Crown did not...

Court Disposition

Accused found not guilty of murder and discharged.

Orders

  • ['On the indictment for murder presented on 2 November 2020 I find the accused not guilty.' 'The accused is discharged.']