An Adelaide mother whose husband was murdered by their son has vowed to go on loving him despite the tragedy.
Former Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh, 55, was killed by his son, Cy, last July. He died in his family home after being stabbed 20 times with a hunting knife.
According to The Age, Cy Walsh was yesterday found not guilty of murder because he was deemed to be mentally incompetent at the time.
His mother Meredith Walsh prepared a statement to be read in court, which said: “My heart remains broken. My daughter is also shattered… I will continue to love and support my son as his father has always done.”
According to documents submitted to court, Cy has suffered from mental health problems since 2011. He heard voices, felt a demonic force pressing on him and had at time believed that his father was the devil.
He had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, and had a history of drug-taking. However, the court heard that he was not under the influence of drugs at the time of the murder.
Ms Walsh has called for increased resources and information for families living with mental health issues.
According to the ABC, Ms Walsh said that privacy rules in relation to patients with mental illnesses need to be reviewed.
On two occasions, doctors told her son to continue to take medication, but didn’t alert the family of this. “Because he was an adult the medical profession, as the law allows, didn’t involve any other person with his health care,” she said, according to the ABC.
“This is where privacy issues need to be reviewed in these types of cases where someone’s mental state is gradually escalating and putting themselves at risk.”
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