David Janzow, who killed his son Luca while affected by mental illness, asks Adelaide court for more freedoms
David Janzow has made his first in-court appearance after years of treatment and asked for further leniency in his highly supervised life.
Police & Courts
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A man who killed his own son, irrationally convinced the four-year-old was “a psychopath”, has asked a court let him drink alcohol “occasionally” and permit him to travel interstate.
On Monday, David Janzow made his first personal appearance in the Supreme Court since being released, under strict supervision, from the state’s mental health facilities three years ago.
He asked the court to consider varying the terms of that supervision so he could “be permitted the occasional consumption of alcohol” and “travel interstate with the written permission of the Parole Board”.
In 2015, Mr Janzow was found not guilty of murdering Luca, a year earlier, by reason of mental incompetence.
He was, at the time, battling psychosis arising from a depressive disorder, thought himself to be a psychopath and, when he saw traits he believed were similar in Luca, came to the irrational conclusion they both had to die.
Mr Janzow was sentenced to a limiting term - a period under mental health supervision equal in length to an offence’s prison sentence - of life.
In 2018, he was granted limited periods of supervised time in the community.
In 2022, he sought full release into the community, under supervision while living in a low-security facility.
At that time, Luca’s mother, Julia Trinne, broke her eight-year silence about the incident to ask he be banned from coming near her or her family due to their ongoing trauma.
On Monday, Justice Julie McIntyre said she would order a number of reports before considering Mr Janzow’s application.
Those would include expert medical reports, including the opinion of his treating psychiatrist, as well as the view of the Parole Board and of Ms Trinne.
She remanded Mr Janzow under his current supervision orders to a further hearing in September.
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