A man who stabbed a paramedic to death in an unprovoked attack in Sydney has been found not criminally responsible for the fatal act on mental health grounds.
Jordan James Fineanganofo admitted stabbing paramedic Steven Tougher, 29, 55 times outside a McDonald’s in Campbelltown in the early hours of April 14, 2023.
The 23-year-old man had pleaded not guilty to murder on the grounds of impaired mental health, a defense element found by a NSW Supreme Court judge on Friday.
Judge David Davies said: “I accept the psychiatric evidence on the balance of probabilities that the defendant suffered from a mental health disorder.”
“This mental disorder resulted in the defendant not knowing that his actions were wrong.”
Prosecutors agreed an appropriate special sentence would be given to Finian Ganofo, who said he heard voices before the attack.
Dr. Kerri Eagle, a forensic psychiatrist hired by the prosecution, found Fineanganofo was suffering from psychosis at the time, consistent with a relapse into schizophrenia.
Eagle said Finian Ganofo was aware enough to know what he was doing, but could not properly infer that it was wrong because of his mental state.
Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC previously told the court the killer had no interaction with Tugger before the gruesome attack, which lasted almost four minutes.
Togel tried to push Finian Ganofo away but couldn’t, saying: “What are you doing? Stop stabbing me man.
Despite the efforts of several people to help, the attacker continued to stab Togg and walked away multiple times before returning to inflict more wounds on the NSW Ambulance worker as he lay on the ground.
After his arrest, Finian Ganofo reported hearing hallucinations in which various voices and his own voice told him to kill himself and others.
He said the sounds had grown in intensity over the past month and that day he was unable to cope with them, prompting him to randomly attack a member of the community.
Fineanganofo also pleaded not guilty on mental health grounds to a series of related charges related to the incident in a nearby suburb in the days before killing Tougher.
The incidents include intimidating a woman pushing her five-month-old child in a pram, threatening several men at a petrol station, and swinging a knife at a man during a roadside incident, piercing his jacket but not Pierce the skin.
Following the verdict, Finian Ganofo was remanded in custody and a hearing to make further orders is scheduled for Thursday.
Someone in a large crowd of Tug’s family members and supporters shouted as he was led out of the courtroom.
“You choose not to take your medication,” one person said. “You are the devil.”
