Sara McCullock: Court twist for mother accused of the ‘graphic and disturbing’ murder of her baby boy: ‘Tortured for all eternity’
A woman accused of killing her 14-month-old son has been given a judge-only trial, with her defense set to argue she was of unsound mind at the time.
Sara Jade McCullock appeared in court on Tuesday to seek approval to have her case heard alone before a judge rather than a jury under section 27 of the WA Criminal Code.
She is accused of causing the death of her son Jace on April 27, 2022, at their home in Mandurah, south of Perth.
Section 27(1) of the Criminal Code 1913 is a defense of not guilty by reason of diminished culpability.
Judge Amanda Forrester told the court that police responded to a report from neighbors of a disturbance at Ms McCullock’s home in the Mandurah suburb of Madora Bay.
Sara Jade McCullock appeared in court on Tuesday to seek approval to have her case heard alone before a judge rather than a jury under section 27 of the WA Criminal Code.
Ms McCullock is accused of causing the death of her son Jace on April 27, 2022, at their home in Mandurah, south of Perth.
The court was told the night before police were called to the house that Mrs McCullock’s mother and sister were concerned about her welfare and that she had not been taking medication for a mental illness.
They left her around 8 p.m., with young Jace sleeping in his mother’s arms.
The next morning, neighbors reportedly heard loud banging and screaming from the house when they called the police.
When police arrived, loud music was playing and they saw Mrs McCullock laughing and holding her young son, who was covered in blood, but she did not respond to them, the court heard.
Police attempted to revive the young boy until ambulances arrived, but he could not be saved.
Judge Forrester said Mrs McCullock told police someone had entered her home and killed her son.
But after being admitted to the Frankland Centre, a psychiatric facility in Perth, she told staff there that she killed her son because she thought he would be ‘tortured for eternity’.
Ms McCullock’s defense will argue that she was incapable of understanding what she was doing at the time.
The court heard Ms McCullock suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and was reportedly delusional at the time.
District Attorney Michael Cvetkoski said that while a jury could still reach a verdict in the case, it could only be heard by a judge. due to the complex nature of two psychiatric reports submitted into evidence.
A report by psychiatrist Adam Brett found that Mrs McCullock lacked the ability to control her actions and did not have the knowledge not to perform the act.
A separate report by psychiatrist Victoria Pascu found that Ms McCullock had lost the ability to not carry out the act, but had the ability to control her actions, even though she was significantly impaired by her mental illness.
The court was told the night before police were called to the house that Mrs McCullock’s mother and sister were concerned about her welfare and that she had not been taking medication for a mental illness.
Judge Forrester approved the request to have the trial heard by a judge alone, telling the court this would be quicker and less painful for everyone involved.
Another factor was evidence of her previous conduct that would be discreditable to a jury, Judge Forrester said.
While she agreed to a judge-alone trial, she said Ms. McCullock could have received a fair trial before a jury even though the child’s injuries were distressing.
A trial date will be set at a status conference on May 2.
Mrs McCullock was taken into custody.