Scots mother ‘stabbed 60 times by own son in a drug-fuelled frenzy’
A MAN high on drugs killed his Scottish mother by stabbing her more than 60 times at her home in Australia, a court has heard.
Carol Ann Cameron, 63, originally from Uphall, West Lothian, died following an incident at her house in Perth in August 2020.
The cancer care nurse had called paramedics over concerns her son Callum Cameron had overdosed on the plant-based psychedelic drug DMT.
Cameron, 31, is on trial accused of murder at the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
The court heard the pair argued after he refused to get in an ambulance with the medical staff when they arrived at the property. He told his mother to ‘f*** off’ before attacking her with a knife in the kitchen.
One of the paramedics said he heard Ms Cameron shouting ‘no, no, don’t, stop,’ before she crawled into the living room while her son continued to stab her.
A police officer found Cameron sitting on a couch, with blood on his hands, looking ‘remarkably calm’. Cameron has admitted the manslaughter of his mother by inflicting multiple penetrating stab wounds. However, he has denied he intended to murder her and claimed he was in a state of delirium at the time due to drugs.
Documents submitted to the court by the prosecution stated: ‘Ms Cameron was encouraging the accused to move to the front door. The accused was reluctant and lay down on the sofa in the lounge room, with his face in the cushions and bum up in the air.
‘Ms Cameron continued to encourage the accused to go with the ambulance officers.
‘The accused got up and walked into the kitchen area, followed by Ms Cameron, out of sight of the ambulance officers.
‘The conversation between the accused and Ms Cameron became more agitated, with Ms Cameron encouraging the accused to go with the ambulance and the accused telling her to “f*** off”. There was a sound as if from cutlery and Ms Cameron shouted, “no, no, don’t, stop”.
‘Ms Cameron was screaming for help and crawling away, as the accused stabbed her repeatedly with a knife. The ambulance officers retreated to the ambulance and activated Code Black, requesting police.’
Ms Cameron was taken to the Royal Perth Hospital by paramedics but could not be saved.
The cause of death was identified as multiple stab wounds to the face, neck and body.
Cameron’s legal team said he had no memory of the incident and had not set out to harm his mother.
The court was told the issue for the judge was to decide if Cameron’s use of the psychedelic drug meant he lost his grasp on reality and did not have the capacity to form an intent to murder.
Evidence in the trial, which has been conducted without a jury, has now concluded and the judge, Justice Joseph McGrath, will issue his verdict at a later date.
‘Conversation became agitated’