Woman deemed insane at time of stabbing

A Manawatu¯ woman has been found not guilty of attempted murder by stabbing another woman by reason of insanity.

She had long-standing mental health problems and was not taking her medication at the time of the incident in November last year.

The woman’s name is suppressed, as is the victim’s name and their relationship.

At the High Court in Wellington yesterday, Justice Simon France said he was satisfied that the woman, who is in her 60s, was labouring under a disease of the mind at the time of the stabbing.

The judge said she did not have the capacity to understand the wrongness of it or to think in any rational sense and that a jury would have to find her not guilty by reason of insanity. He kept her in custody until May for a disposition hearing to determine what should happen to her.

The judge said the woman believed she had given the victim a disease that would mean a lingering death and that she was saving the victim by attempting to kill her.

He said she had a long-standing mental illness and had stopped taking her medication.

Her lawyer Val Nisbet confirmed the woman was now fit to stand trial and understood the consequences of her actions. The Crown has agreed that she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.