Jury hears of accused’s ‘genuine’ mental illness

A JURY yesterday heard evidence from a psychiatrist which is expected to inform their decision on whether or not an accused murderer was capable of understanding his actions.

Dr Edwin Elcock was the last witness to give evidence in the Supreme Court trial of Joshua Josef Barker, 31, over the alleged murder of Dale James Watson and alleged assault of courier driver Timothy Bumford on March 9 last year.

Mr Barker is accused of deliberately driving onto a footpath and hitting and killing Mr Watson in Prospect Vale. The jury heard Mr Barker was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after being assaulted in 2009.

Dr Elcock, an expert on PTSD, treated and assessed Mr Barker for two months after his arrest last year. He interviewed Mr Barker for 40 minutes in February this year about the alleged crimes, to “form an opinion about whether he was suffering from mental illness at the time”.

He said Mr Barker had indicated and maintained throughout his assessment that he did not remember the alleged murder. Dr Elcock concluded Mr Barker’s memory loss and mental illness was “genuine”.

He said Mr Barker’s PTSD was chronic.

The court heard PTSD could alter the brain and impact “how you think about the world and how you change your core values”.

During a relapse of acute PTSD over a six-week period in 2012, Mr Barker was vigilant, presented disordered behaviour and “bizarreness” and was not sleeping.

Dr Elcock said the relapse was a “warning sign”. He said Mr Barker was already becoming vigilant, aroused and was “interpreting the world in a paranoid, hostile manner” when his cat was run over. He “formed the delusion” the cat had been killed by the people who assaulted him in 2009.

Dr Elcock said there was no doubt suffering an acute case of PTSD would have impacted Mr Barker’s thought processes and ability to think clearly.

He said there was evidence Mr Barker’s memory and emotions were disordered the morning of the alleged murder.

The court heard Mr Barker had visited the scene of his 2009 assault before allegedly hitting Watson with his car.

He said Mr Barker “did not understand the difference between right and wrong at that moment”.

The jury is expected to begin deliberations after closing submissions tomorrow.