Supreme Court cancels mental health licence of David Tzeegankoff, who killed his ‘vampire’ psychiatrist in 1998

For three decades, doctors have tried to help this killer overcome his mental illness – now he’s back behind bars, yet again, over his abuse of illicit drugs.

For 33 years, doctors have tried to help David Tzeegankoff overcome his demons – the voices that told him to kill his “vampire” psychiatrist for using a “voodoo doll” to harm him.

Between 1998 and 2022, he was released from secure mental health facilities eight times, breached those conditions five times by abusing drugs, and served two periods in jail.

Now, Tzeegankoff has disobeyed doctors’ orders for a sixth time – prompting the Supreme Court to revoke his liberty and order him returned to a secure setting.

Justice Laura Stein said there was no other option for a man who “has contravened, and is highly likely to contravene”, the rules placed upon him were he to be released again.

David Tzeegankoff, centre, being taken from the Supreme Court to Glenside Hospital by a support worker, left, in the early 2000s.

“(Doctors) consider Tzeegankoff’s prognosis poor and his engagement with rehabilitation as superficial,” she says in a judgment published online.

“(They) describe Tzeegankoff as having an extremely pronounced tendency to externalise blame and fundamentally very little motivation to avoid substance use.

“This derives from problems relating to his personality, rather than mental illness.”

In December 1992, Tzeegankoff stabbed and killed his treating psychiatrist, Dr Nandadevi Chandra, in her office at Hillcrest Hospital.

Tzeegankoff, an outpatient at the time, told police he stabbed her, then beat her over the head with pliers, because she was “giving me the s--ts” about his medication.

He claimed he used the pliers “just to make sure she was dead” and because he “didn’t want her to suffer”.

At trial, however, mental health experts gave evidence that Tzeegankoff displayed chronic symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia.

They said he had explained, after his arrest, “voices” in his head had told him “kill her, kill her, she’s a vampire”.

Tzeegankoff also believed Dr Chandra “stuck pins in a voodoo doll effigy” of him.

He was found not guilty of murder, by reason of mental incompetence, and placed on a limiting term – a period under mental health care equal to a jail term – of life.

Tzeegankoff has repeatedly used drugs when permitted to leave secure facilities.

Tzeegankoff has been released from custody, or permitted leniency in his supervision, in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2024.

He has breached strict bans on drug and alcohol use in 1999, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2025.

The 2018 incident was among the most serious, described in court as Tzeegankoff “bingeing” on illegal drugs including amphetamine, benzodiazepine, cannabis and methadone.

In her judgment, Justice Stein says Tzeegankoff “Remains at a very high risk of substance abuse” and has “demonstrated he would take every opportunity to use illicit substances”.

“While there is always hope for progress, Tzeegankoff’s history means that significant time and progress will be required before further community leave will be appropriate,” she says.