The man who fatally stabbed well-known Shortland man Robert 'Bobby' Palmer after a failed attempt at holding-up a service station believed there was a war going on around him and that people were "listening in on him", Newcastle Supreme Court has heard.
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Forensic psychiatrist Dr Olav Nielssen said these "bizarre beliefs" and "persecutory outlook" were among the factors that led him to believe that Zack Mavin was unable to reason with a moderate "degree of composure of the wrongfulness of his actions" at the time of the robbery and killing.
The court heard on Wednesday that Mr Mavin had stopped taking his anti psychotic medication at least 10 days earlier and claimed to have consumed at least seven Xanax tablets as well as ice the day of the incidents.
Dr Nielssen said Mr Mavin's view of the stabbing - where he falsely alleged that Mr Palmer had attacked him - was a "paranoid, deluded perception of what had taken place". The encounter was caught on video.
He said Mr Mavin had a "completely unrealistic view of the seriousness of the situation" and in prison, months later, denied that Mr Palmer had died.
Mr Mavin is facing a trial this week, after he pleaded not guilty to murder and attempted armed robbery.
He doesn't appear to have either understood the wrongfulness of what he's done or have an appreciation of the seriousness of the situation.
- Dr Olav Nielssen, forensic psychiatrist.
It is not in dispute that he tried to rob the service station or that he stabbed Mr Palmer, 61, in the abdomen on the night of December 12, 2020.
Both the Crown and defence agree that Mr Mavin has schizophrenia or a schizoaffective disorder, but the sides differ on whether the mental illness impaired his ability to determine right from wrong on the night in question enough to allow him a defence of mental health or cognitive impairment.
Mr Mavin had spray-painted his face and hands black and was armed with a hammer, two knives and a homemade chemical bomb when he unsuccessfully tried to rob the 7/11 on Sandgate Road - only 300m from his home.
After staying in the area and talking to people about the attempted hold-up - as well as picking up cigarette butts to smoke - he stabbed Mr Palmer before walking home, where he was arrested.
"He doesn't appear to have either understood the wrongfulness of what he's done or have an appreciation of the seriousness of the situation," Dr Nielssen said after being called by the defence team to give expert evidence.
"Obviously there's some cognitive awareness of what he's done but a lack of awareness of the seriousness."
The trial continues.
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