Re Rigg

[2014] QMHC 5

MENTAL HEALTH COURT

CITATION:

Re Rigg [2014] QMHC 5

PARTIES:

REFERENCE BY THE DEFENDANT’S LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE IN RESPECT OF TONI MALISCHA RIGG

FILE NO/S:

48 of 2013

DELIVERED ON:

25 August 2014

DELIVERED AT:

Brisbane

HEARING DATE:

18 July 2014

JUDGE:

Boddice J

ASSISTING PSYCHIATRISTS:

Dr F T Varghese
Dr S Harden

ORDERS:

At the time of each of the alleged offences the subject of the reference, the defendant was not suffering from unsoundness of mind as defined in the Schedule to the Mental Health Act 2000 (Qld).1.   

In respect of each of the alleged offences, the defendant is fit for trial.2.   

Each of the alleged offences is to proceed according to law.3.   

Copies of the reports are to be released to the parties in the criminal proceedings.4.   

CATCHWORDS:

MENTAL HEALTH – DECLARATION OR FINDING OF

MENTAL ILLNESS OR INCAPACITY – where the defendant is charged with two counts of armed robbery – where the defendant contends the alleged offences were committed at the behest of her imaginary friend who is the product of her schizophrenia – where the reporting psychiatrists disagree – where one reporting psychiatrist opines the defendant was deprived of the requisite capacities at the time the alleged offences took place – where the other reporting psychiatrist opines the defendant was not deprived of the requisite capacities at the time the alleged offences took place – the assisting psychiatrists agree the defendant was not deprived of the requisite capacities at the time the alleged offences took place – whether the defendant was suffering from a mental illness at the time the alleged offences took place – whether the defendant was of unsound mind at the time the alleged offences took place – whether the defendant is fit for trial

COUNSEL:

J Briggs for the defendant
J Tate for the Director of Mental Health

B J Merrin  for the Director of Public Prosecutions (Qld)

SOLICITORS:

Legal Aid Queensland for the defendant
Crown Law for the Director of Mental Health

Director of Public Prosecutions (Qld)

1. BODDICE J: By reference filed 19 February 2013, Legal Aid Queensland referred to this Court the mental condition of Toni Malischa Rigg at the time of two alleged offences of armed robbery on 6 July 2012.  At issue is whether the Defendant was suffering from a mental illness and, if so, whether as a consequence of such mental illness she was deprived of any of the requisite capacities at the time of the alleged offences.  There is no dispute the Defendant is otherwise fit for trial.

Background

1. The Defendant was born on 20 December 1990.  She has a past history of experiencing postnatal depression.  She has also abused alcohol and other illicit substances in the past, including cannabis in large quantities.

1. In December 2011, the Defendant was referred to a consultant psychiatrist by her general practitioner.  Her presenting symptoms were depression, hearing voices and seeing things.  She had not previously received psychiatric assessment.  The Defendant attended on five further occasions, one in late December 2011, one in January 2012, two in February 2012 and one in March 2012.

1. At the initial consultation, the Defendant reported hearing “three voices” telling her to do things.  The voices had started after her partner had gone to gaol.  At the time she had been abusing speed and had not slept for over a week.  When she stopped using speed the voices worsened.  She described hallucinations.  She also reported abusing alcohol and illicit drugs in the past although she denied using any such substances in the six months preceding her referral.  She had particularly used alcohol and cannabis in large quantities.

1. The consultant psychiatrist diagnosed the Defendant as suffering from a psychotic disorder.  The psychotic symptoms, triggered by a drug binge, were consistent with schizophrenia.  Those symptoms included auditory and visual hallucinations.  The Defendant also had difficulty in identifying what was real and what was not.  She was prescribed medication for that disorder. 

Alleged offences

1. The alleged offences arose out of an incident at a 7-11 store and service station in Woodridge.  The attendant reported that around 2.00 am on 6 July 2012, two males came to the store.  The attendant unlocked the doors to allow entry.  Whilst the male persons were looking around the premises, a female person entered through the unlocked doors.  She was wearing a hooded jumper with a bicycle helmet on top of her head.  He did not recall seeing any pushbike outside the store.

1. The attendant said the female came straight to the counter.  She was breathing heavily and sticking her tongue out.  She requested a packet of cigarettes.  As the attendant went to retrieve the cigarettes, the female jumped onto the counter top, and stepped through to the attendant’s side of the counter.  The female demanded money.  She then produced a knife and pointed it towards the attendant.  The female said if he did not give her the money she would “kill” him.  After the attendant had placed the notes into a shopping bag, the female snatched the bag and demanded his wallet.  The female then went over to the other side of the counter, and exited through the main doors.

1. One of the males present in the store told police he saw a female climb on top of the counter from the attendant’s side before jumping onto the floor and exiting through the doorway.  The attendant told him he had been robbed.  This male then ran outside and observed the female riding a pushbike away from the service station.  He followed the female in his car.  She subsequently disappeared into a dark alleyway.  He chose not to follow her any further.

1. The other male told police he noticed a female person riding a pushbike towards the service station shop as they arrived at the service station.  As he alighted from the vehicle he noticed an old black mountain bike on the ground on the righthand side of the entrance doorway.  It looked like it had just been thrown to the ground.  When he entered the service station, he did not notice any person inside the shop.  However, after he had taken some items from the freezer he noticed a female person standing behind the counter “side by side” with the console operator.  It appeared the female was saying something to the operator.  He assumed they knew each other and did not think any more of it.

1. This male described the female as looking “a bit like a junkie”.  She was wearing a grey or blue coloured bicycle helmet on her head, and a heavy mustard coloured ski jacket which went down to her mid-thigh.  As he walked towards the counter the female placed something into a plastic bag.  The female then scrunched the bag up and jumped onto the counter.  She climbed through the wires and ran out the door.  His friend then left in the vehicle to pursue the female.

1. Police officers called to the scene conducted a foot patrol of the alleyway.  They found no items of interest and returned to the police station.  Whilst undertaking other duties, police communications transferred a telephone call from a female person claiming to be the armed robbery offender.  Police then attended an address at Woodridge.  They observed a female person who matched the description of the female offender talking on a mobile phone.  The female was not wearing a jacket or bicycle helmet as depicted in the CCTV footage viewed by these police officers.  The female also did not appear to be in possession of a bicycle.

1. As police approached the female, she terminated her telephone call and produced a wallet.  She was visibly distressed and said “I have this, Michelle told me to take it”.  The wallet contained identification of the service station attendant.  The female person identified herself as the Defendant.  She said “Michelle” had told her to commit the armed robbery, and was now telling her to run away.  The Defendant apologised profusely during the conversation.  She said “Michelle wouldn’t stop nagging me”.  During the conversation it became apparent to police “Michelle” appeared to be an imaginary person or alternate personality.

1. Police further reported that whilst they were transporting the Defendant to the police station, the Defendant engaged in conversations with “Michelle” whilst also attempting to interact with police.  The Defendant advised them she was a diagnosed schizophrenic but had not been taking her medication due to being homeless.  Any further conversation was scattered and frequently interrupted by the Defendant having to reprimand “Michelle” for alleged misbehaviour.  Police made no attempt to interview the Defendant at the police station due to her obvious distress and apparent mental condition.

Reporting psychiatrists

Dr Kovacevic

1. Dr Kovacevic initially provided a report to the Beenleigh Magistrates Court dated 24 July 2012.  He had assessed the Defendant on 23 July 2012 in his capacity as a Consultant Psychiatrist with the Prison Mental Health Service.  He had seen her at the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre.

1. According to Dr Kovacevic’s report, the Defendant was in a tearful and distressed state when examined by him.  She reported committing the alleged offences because her friend told her to do it, and threatened to kill her family members if she did not comply.  Her friend’s name was Michelle but the friend would often go under different names at different times.  The Defendant said Michelle was with her when she committed the alleged offence.  She was also with her at the watchhouse, and during her first week at the Correctional Centre.  Michelle disappeared after about ten days following the reintroduction of her anti-psychotic medications. 

1. During this initial interview, the Defendant described acute psychotic symptoms characterised by visual and auditory hallucinations.  She explained the vision of Michelle had reappeared after she discontinued her anti-psychotic medications approximately one week prior to the alleged offences.  The Defendant reported she had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia.  She had been treated with anti-psychotic medication for about one year with a reasonably good response.

1. The Defendant reported that about one week prior to the alleged offences she had bumped into Michelle at the train station.  Michelle lived in Springwood with her mother.  They spent time together and went shopping.  She described Michelle as a 25 year old girl with squared face and blond hair.  She was size 12 and of a similar height to the Defendant.  The Defendant said she had known Michelle since she was 17.  The Defendant reported that after a few days, started asking her for money.  Michelle started “flipping out” and threatening to kill her and her family. 

1. The Defendant reported that prior to the alleged incident she received a telephone call saying her sister had been murdered.  The Defendant believed Michelle was responsible for this, and promised Michelle she would do whatever she wanted in order to prevent further tragedies.  The Defendant reported she went to the service station with a knife in her pocket.  She obtained some money and decamped on foot. 

1. The Defendant said she later entered a block of units seeking to use the toilet.  When a person answered a door, the Defendant asked if she and her friend could come in.  The Defendant “freaked out” when the occupant told her he could see nobody there except her.  The occupant telephoned police and the Defendant handed herself into police.  The Defendant said that by the time of her arrest she had already lost the knife and the money, which she thought she had given to Michelle.

1. The Defendant reported that during her stay at the watchhouse she thought Michelle was with her at the watchhouse, talking to her and asking her why she did not get away.  She was seeing and hearing Michelle, although she was trying to ignore her.  It was whilst at the watchhouse the Defendant was recommenced on her regular anti-psychotic medication.

1. Dr Kovacevic opined that by the time he examined the Defendant, she had regained insight into the nature of her experiences and was accepting that Michelle was a product of her psychotic mind.  The Defendant reported Michelle looked and sounded completely real at the time.  The Defendant was distressed that she could do something so out of character.  Dr Kovacevic noted the Defendant reported being diagnosed with schizophrenia and of having experienced similar auditory and visual hallucinations on a number of previous occasions. 

1. Dr Kovacevic also noted the Defendant reported other psychotic symptoms that seemed to have begun at the age of 17, such as seeing “evil looking monsters crawling over the walls” and hearing screeching noises and seeing monsters coming into her house and breaking things.  The Defendant reported feeling suicidal at times.  The Defendant said she had been admitted to the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital for about eight days on at least one occasion.  The Defendant received limited follow up from the Mental Health Services.  Her mother subsequently approached a private psychiatrist on the Gold Coast who diagnosed her with a psychotic illness, and instituted treatment with anti-psychotic medications.

1. Dr Kovacevic said the Defendant reported experimenting with “speed” for about three months some time mid-2011.  She denied any more recent illicit substance use.  She also denied any history of problem drinking.  She reported her brother had suffered from depression but there was no other significant history of mental illness in her family.

1. Dr Kovacevic subsequently spoke to the Defendant’s mother.  She confirmed her daughter was in treatment with a private psychiatrist.  She stated the alleged offending was completely out of character.  The mother insisted her daughter talked to imaginary people, heard voices in her head and at times simply could not function due to her mental illness.  The mother reported excessive checking behaviours and obsessional tendencies as well as previous suicide attempts.  The mother confirmed her daughter had recently failed to fill her script for anti-psychotic medication. 

1. Dr Kovacevic opined the Defendant had a major psychiatric disorder, most probably schizophrenia, characterised by auditory and visual hallucinations as well as delusional beliefs.  The Defendant was acutely unwell at the time of the alleged offences.  In Dr Kovacevic’s opinion, the Defendant’s mental illness deprived her of the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions, and of the capacity to control her conduct.  The Defendant was driven by her psychotic beliefs and auditory hallucinations, instructing her to commit the alleged offences.  She believed if she did not comply she and her family would suffer grave consequences.  The Defendant’s bizarre behaviour following the alleged offences was testimony of the depth of her mental disturbance, and the irrational nature of her crime.

1. Dr Kovacevic provided a further report dated 29 April 2014.  This report was provided after Dr Kovacevic had the opportunity to listen to the recording of the triple zero telephone call to police.  He noted the call commenced with a male advising police he had been approached by the Defendant who told him she and her friend Michelle had just robbed a service station.  The male referred to the Defendant as “apparently” having a friend who was nowhere to be seen.  The male subsequently indicated he did not want to be involved and refused to identify himself.  The Defendant insisted her friend Michelle had disappeared in the nearby park and she was not imaginary.

1. The male then handed over the phone to the Defendant. Dr Kovacevic noted the Defendant sounded distressed and reported that Michelle wanted her to do another robbery and was screaming at her asking her to get off the phone.  The Defendant also talks to somebody in the background in a distressed voice.  The Defendant then reported to the operator Michelle had been “hounding” her for a couple of days, and the Defendant had run out of her regular anti-psychotic medications.  The Defendant said to the operator the voices stopped when she takes her medication.

1. The Defendant further told the operator Michelle was not letting her sleep, and she had gone for a walk before Michelle started demanding she rob a service station.  The Defendant said Michelle accompanied her to the service station.  The Defendant admitted she had a knife in her pocket. She said she had given the proceeds of the robbery to Michelle.  The Defendant was in possession of the wallet but was unable to account for the money.  She said Michelle must have taken the money and walked into the park.

1. In Dr Kovacevic’s opinion, the content of the conversation is entirely consistent with what the Defendant had reported to him.  He considered the Defendant’s account credible.  In his opinion, the Defendant was acutely psychotic and delusional at the time of the alleged offences.  This psychosis deprived the Defendant of the capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions, and of the capacity to control her actions. 

1. Dr Kovacevic maintained those opinions in evidence.  He considered the Defendant’s loss of memory as to what had happened to the money, bike helmet and bicycle, consistent with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.  A person in an acutely psychotic state overwhelmed by hallucinations and delusions will suffer an impairment in the formation of memory and the laying down of memories.  He agreed it would not explain a complete total memory loss.  Dr Kovacevic also did not consider visual hallucinations were uncommon in schizophrenia, although he accepted they were not as common as auditory hallucinations.

1. Dr Kovacevic agreed that when he first interviewed the Defendant, she denied any hallucinations at that time, and the Defendant was exhibiting a degree of insight into the fact that Michelle was a product of her own mind.  He believed the Defendant’s psychotic symptoms had responded to the reinstitution of her anti-psychotic medication.  Dr Kovacevic did not consider the Defendant’s description of visual hallucinations inconsistent with how hallucinations present themselves.

Dr Reddan

1. Dr Reddan examined the Defendant on 13 August 2013.  The Defendant reported having no recollection of the alleged offences themselves but described a good recollection of “being crazy”.  She also gave a detailed account of her subsequent interaction with police.  She attributed her poor memory to the fact she has an Arnold Chiari malformation.  The Defendant also reported she had ceased taking her anti-psychotic medication prior to the alleged offences. 

1. The Defendant gave a history of her “friend Michelle” appearing about one week before the alleged offences.  Michelle informed the Defendant she was having money problems.  The Defendant invited Michelle to stay with her at Woodridge.  The Defendant reported being first approached by Michelle when she was pregnant and living in Cairns.  She described Michelle as fully formed and very clear.  Michelle appeared to be approximately 24 years old with blond hair and blue eyes.  Michelle was a little taller than the Defendant but of a similar build. 

1. The Defendant reported that if she ignored Michelle, Michelle would become angry and “gollum-like creatures” would appear and try to eat her and follow her around.  Michelle would also threaten to kill her or her family.  At various times, Michelle instructed the Defendant to harm or kill others.  The Defendant admitted she had never attacked or attempted to harm anyone under Michelle’s instructions.  Michelle had also ordered her to shoplift in the past but the Defendant did not do so. 

1. Dr Reddan noted the Court Liaison Service had attended on the Defendant on the morning of her arrest.  The Defendant had described suffering from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  She was prescribed anti-psychotic medication.  On 11 July 2012, the Defendant reported to a psychologist that she was hearing a voice from Michelle.  She reported being distressed by this voice.  She also reported previous community mental health supervision, and a previous suicide attempt. 

1. On 12 July 2012, the Defendant informed another psychologist she was experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations of a girl.  The Defendant was teary and somewhat agitated but said she did not believe the girl could hurt her family.  The Defendant said the girl would not leave her alone but if she talked with the girl, the girl calmed down.  The Defendant did not want to speak to the girl because she did not want to be crazy.  The Defendant told another psychologist on the same day “the girl was telling her to harm everyone and go off like a two year old”.

1. On 17 July 2012, the Defendant stated she was in a happy mood but it was noted her affect appeared congruent.  She denied auditory hallucinations but reported visual hallucinations.  On the same day, she reported to a correctional supervisor that she had taken an overdose the previous year involving alcohol and drugs because she wanted to stop the voices in her head.  She said she had been placed on medication and that had gotten rid of the voices.  She denied hearing voices at that time.  On the same date, the Defendant informed a psychologist she was continuing to experience visual hallucinations and was using distraction techniques to cope with them.

1. On 9 August 2012, the Defendant reported to a psychologist that her imaginary friend leaves her instantly when she takes her anti-psychotic medication.  On 15 August 2012, she reported to the same psychologist having multiple friends, all were people she had known in the past.  She described seeing evil creatures crawling all over the walls.  On 23 November 2012, the Defendant reported being distressed about headaches but did not manifest any psychotic symptoms.  On 11 January 2013, she described seeing “gollum” like creatures, and a woman who wanted to hurt people and do a robbery.  She also complained of headaches.

1. At interview, the Defendant reported to Dr Reddan she had suffered from “postnatal depression” after the birth of her child on 31 January 2011.  She accepted she had abused a lot of drugs in the past but said she had not used intravenous amphetamines for over two years.  She also ceased smoking marijuana when she fell pregnant.  She recommenced using marijuana after ceasing breast feeding her child.  She reported having used “ice” once.  In her teenage years she had abused alcohol.  She reported that about a month prior to the current evaluation she had shared a bottle of bourbon with a friend and became “delusional”.  She described walking around furniture that wasn’t there and talking to people who weren’t there”.  She also described seeing “gremlins”.  Her mother told her she was “loopy”. 

1. Dr Reddan subsequently interviewed the Defendant’s mother.  She gave a somewhat disjointed history, including an incident when the Defendant suffered a major fit which was described by paramedics to constitute a panic attack.  The mother reported the Defendant had then been taken to the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital where she was paralysed from the neck down complaining of back pain.  The Defendant was transferred to the Princess Alexandra Hospital and subsequently to its Mental Health Unit as she was suicidal.

1. In Dr Reddan’s opinion, the Defendant related in an immature manner and appeared quite suggestible.  Her affect was reactive and congruent with her mood.  There was no evidence of any restriction, blunting or mobility of her affect.  There was also no evidence of pervasive depression, elevation of mood or irritability.  Her thought form was within normal limits, and did not reveal any particular ruminations or preoccupations.  There was no evidence of any delusions or overvalue ideas.  There was also no evidence of any ongoing hallucinatory phenomena.

1. Dr Reddan opined the Defendant was likely to be of low average intellect.  It also appeared from interview the Defendant told fanciful tales, and exaggerated her past history.  This was suggestive of a rather histrionic personality.  Dr Reddan noted that whilst the Defendant first started talking about hallucinations during the latter part of 2011, there was no mention of an imaginary friend called Michelle until after she had been charged with the alleged offences. 

1. In Dr Reddan’s opinion, the description of Michelle was more inconsistent than one would expect in a psychosis, and the overall history about the appearance and behaviour of Michelle was most unusual.  The description of Michelle, and of her interactions, “is unlike any psychosis I have ever come across or heard about”.  Further, the Defendant’s claim of no recollection of what she actually did when she committed the robbery, but of a good recollection of the psychotic phenomena, was opposite to what is usually observed.

1. Dr Reddan noted a further inconsistency.  Although the Defendant reported she committed the robbery at the behest of Michelle who had threatened to harm her family if she did not do so, the Defendant had at around the same time reported she knew Michelle could not and would not harm her family.  She similarly reported that Michelle frequently instructed her to shoplift or attack others, actions she had never done, suggesting Michelle’s influence was not absolutely compelling even if Michelle actually existed in the Defendant’s mind.  Significantly, no one had ever observed or noted the Defendant manifest an abnormal affect, or a thought disorder or clear cut fragmentary or systematised delusions.

1. Dr Reddan opined if the Defendant did suffer from schizophrenia or a recurrent psychotic disorder, it was a most unusual form of psychosis.  There was no evidence of any of the negative features or other symptoms of schizophrenia.  There was also no evidence of either periods of pervasive elevation or pervasive depression of mood which would warrant a diagnosis of Bipolar One.

1. Having regard to the inconsistencies and the unusual nature of the Defendant’s presentation, Dr Reddan concluded the Defendant was unlikely to be suffering a mental illness.  Even if she did, there was no deprivation of any relevant capacity as a consequence of that mental illness.

1. Dr Reddan maintained that opinion in evidence.  She considered the finding of an Arnold-Chiari malformation an incidental finding.  In Dr Reddan’s opinion, a description of talking to voices and of seeing visions is not diagnostic of schizophrenia.  It is actually very common in the community, partly related sometimes to drug use.  Dr Reddan considered it significant that a number of people who observed the Defendant at around the time of the alleged offences noted a lack of thought disorder.  It is a very unusual presentation to have very vivid, fully formed hallucinations but no other symptoms.

1. In cross-examination, Dr Reddan accepted the Defendant may have some form of recurrent psychotic illness but considered her features very unusual.  Dr Reddan did not consider there was anything in the 000 call which was supportive of a psychotic event.  An equally plausible possibility for the events is that there was a second person involved in the robbery.  Such a scenario would explain the absence of the bicycle, helmet, and money when police located the Defendant.

1. Dr Reddan noted two other unusual aspects of the Defendant’s account.  First, she had a very detailed memory of the psychotic phenomena but no memory of the offences.  It was usually the other way around.  Second, during the armed robbery there was no evidence of the Defendant looking at anyone else, of the Defendant taking instructions from somebody else, or of the Defendant listening to anyone else.  Dr Reddan considered this to be inconsistent with the presence of Michelle.

1. Dr Reddan accepted the Defendant may well believe she has a mental illness.  The Defendant did not have a very mature personality, and it was common for children to have imaginary friends.  However, any such belief was due to a condition which was behaviourally based rather than psychotic.

Assisting psychiatrists

1. Dr Varghese advised that if the Defendant suffered from schizophrenia it was “of a most unusual form”.  Visual hallucinations are relatively rare in schizophrenia.  Moreover, the Defendant’s visual hallucinations were fully formed, including some bizarre hallucinations, but were not accompanied by other symptoms except perhaps the delusional-like idea of Michelle being a threat.  Importantly, there was no formal thought disorder, no negative symptoms, no previous account of the hallucination and very rapid resolution of the seeming psychotic symptoms and lack of memory for the events but not of hallucinations.

1. Dr Varghese advised that people with schizophrenia who describe fully formed visual hallucinations of the type described by the Defendant always have other symptoms of schizophrenia present, such as formal thought disorder, affective change or deterioration.  It was unlikely the Defendant was suffering from schizophrenia.  Her condition was best described as behavioural.  The Defendant was behaving as if she had a mental illness, and acting what in her mind was a concept of a mental illness, but she was not suffering from a mental illness.

1. Dr Harden generally agreed with Dr Varghese.  He advised the evidence of Dr Reddan should be preferred to that of Dr Kovacevic.  He advised that diagnostically the Defendant had a form of personality dysfunction or possibly disorder but it was unlikely she suffered from schizophrenia or a related psychotic illness in the absence of other phenomena such as delusions.  The Defendant did not suffer from mental illness, and there was no deprivation.

Discussion

1. There is little doubt the Defendant presented to police shortly after the alleged offences in a distressed and agitated state.  Her presentation was such that police considered she was potentially mentally unwell.  In the ensuing days the Defendant also presented as being mentally unwell.  The issue for determination is whether that presentation was as a consequence of a mental illness.

1. Whilst Dr Kovacevic was convinced the Defendant’s presentation was as a consequence of the Defendant being acutely unwell and being actively psychotic, I did not find his evidence particularly persuasive.  Dr Kovacevic impressed me as having formed his opinion based on an acceptance of the accuracy of the Defendant’s account.  There did not seem to have been any critical assessment of whether the presentation was consistent with an active psychosis.  Inconsistencies were explained away in a manner which failed to give due regard to the significance of those inconsistent findings in a person said to have schizophrenia.  No satisfactory explanation was given for the Defendant’s highly unusual presentation, or for the absence of any thought disorder and other symptoms of schizophrenia.

1. By contrast, Dr Reddan’s evidence was cogent and persuasive.  Dr Reddan gave careful consideration to the description of the Defendant’s presentation at the time of the alleged offences and subsequently, of the Defendant’s explanation for her conduct, and to all of the surrounding circumstances.  Of particular significance was the absence of any thought disorder or other symptoms of schizophrenia. 

1. Dr Reddan concluded:

“In my opinion, Ms Rigg’s reports of voices and visions represent what a rather suggestible and immature person would regard as a mental illness.

Even if one did accept that Ms Rigg is suffered from a major mental illness, the relationship of it to the alleged offences is also problematic.  As previously stated, it is clear that Ms Rigg did not always act on the instructions of “Michelle” and, indeed, it would appear, even if one accepted her account, as previously stated, that she only acted on them once, and thus it is difficult to see how she could be regarded as being deprived of the ability to control her actions.  Ms Rigg’s telephoning of the police and her tearful confession to them about what she had done suggests, that she was not deprived of the capacity to know that she ought not to have done the act or offence with which she was charged and, clearly, her actions at the time indicate that she knew the nature and quality of her own behaviour, indicating that she was not deprived of the capacity to understand what she was doing.

In addition, as previously alluded to, it would appear that the police made no further enquiries, other than taking a statement from the store attendant and from themselves.  They did not search Ms Rigg’s abode, even though when they arrived to collect her, she was standing in the street where she was residing, she was no longer wearing her jacket or the bicycle helmet.  She provided them with the store attendant’s wallet, but the bulk of the stolen money that had been in it was gone and the police appear not to have made any further enquiries or sought any information about where that money was.  It would also appear that they did not seek any statements from any of the neighbours, nor did they question to whom she was speaking on her telephone during the early morning hours.  It is difficult to believe that the neighbour, Ms Rigg, now refers to, was not questioned and this also raises questions about her account of what occurred.  It seems that it was merely accepted that the imaginary friend, Michelle, had told her to hide the money or put it somewhere else.  There is an equally plausible possibility which would account for these actions and the lack of police investigation makes it difficult to provide a clearer assessment in this case.”

1. Dr Reddan also considered it highly unusual for someone with florid hallucinatory phenomena to not only lose them completely within a few weeks but also to develop insight as the Defendant exhibited to Dr Kovacevic on 23 July 2012.  To have a complete resolution of psychotic symptoms and insight into them in such a person in that length of time “would be really pretty extraordinary”.

1. I accept Dr Reddan’s opinion that the absence of other indicia is highly unusual, and consistent with the Defendant not suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the alleged offences.  I accept the Defendant’s displayed “symptoms” were behaviourally based and not as a consequence of any mental illness.  I am satisfied to the requisite standard that the defendant was not suffering from a mental illness at the time of the alleged offences.

1. This conclusion is consistent with the advice I have received from the assisting psychiatrists.  I found that advice particularly helpful in considering the conflicting opinions of Dr Kovacevic and Dr Reddan. 

Conclusion

1. Whilst the Defendant may have believed she was mentally ill, the Defendant was not suffering from unsoundness of mind at the time of the alleged offences.

1. I accept the Defendant is currently fit for trial.  There is no reason why the alleged offences ought not proceed according to law.

1. I order:

1.    At the time of each of the alleged offences the subject of the reference, the Defendant was not suffering from unsoundness of mind as defined in the Schedule to the Mental Health Act 2000;

2.    In respect of each of the alleged offences, the Defendant is fit for trial;

3.    Each of the alleged offences is to proceed according to law;

4.    Copies of the reports are to be released to the parties in the criminal proceedings.