BACKPACKER KILLER GOING HOME
A MENTALLY ill French man who fatally stabbed two fellow backpackers at a Home Hill hostel is set to be sent home where he will be free of supervision by the Australian authorities, a court has heard.
Australian Border Force ( ABF) officer Odette Rappell, the inspector of removal operations for Queensland, told the Mental Health Court in Brisbane yesterday that Australian authorities have no “control” of killer Smail Ayad once he returns home.
Inspector Rappell told the court that Australia had no legal power to demand French authorities treat Ayad in a mental hospital.
In April the Mental Health Court discontinued criminal proceedings against Ayad for the brutal killing of British backpackers Mia Ayliffe- Chung and Tom Jackson after finding he was suffering paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the knife attack at Home Hill, south of Townsville in August 2016.
Insp Rappell made the comments when she was asked by Simon Hamlyn-Harris, barrister for the state’s chief psychiatrist, whether ABF took “into account” what mental health “arrangements” France had made before returning Ayad home.
“So legislatively we don’t, we only need fitness for travel, we can’t, we don’t have any influence or any legislative grounds to I guess control the environment or the circumstances that person returns back to in their country of citi- zenship,” Insp Rappell told the court. She agreed with suggestions that the ABF was “in discussions” with Queensland Health officials to repatriate Ayad “if the hospital considers he is ready”.
Ayad appeared in court yesterday via video link from a high security unit within The Park mental health centre in Wacol, south of Brisbane, where he is detained.
Justice Jean Dalton told the court that Ayad had told authorities he “wants to go” home.
“One would hope that he is unlikely to remain in this country for too much longer,” Justice Dalton said.
Justice Dalton said it was concerning that Ayad still lacked “proper insight or understanding into his mental illness”.
“And there is evidence that he has been dishonest to those treating him about taking his medication,” Justice Dalton said.
Ayad’s barrister Sally Robb told the court doctors seemed to think Ayad was “well”.
“He is not psychotic. He is taking an antipsychotic orally,” she said.
Ms Robb told the court that Ayad didn’t know he had schizophrenia until the day of the killings, and more recently he had lied to his treating psychologist that he had received medication for a couple of months.
The Queensland Health Department yesterday said it was unable to comment about whether Ayad would be freed in France without supervision, citing “patient confidentiality”.