Family of Michelle Foster, killed outside Colonnades Shopping Centre, speaks out as mentally ill killer is committed to care
Beloved mother of two Michelle Foster was killed by a man affected by schizophrenia – now her mother has revealed how the family’s mental health has been “shattered” by her violent death.
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A mentally ill man will spend the rest of his life under supervision for killing a mother of two – and has wept in court as her family revealed how he has “shattered” their lives.
In a video link with the Supreme Court on Friday, Jayden Tayne Lowah put his head in his hands as Michelle Foster’s mother, Andrea, addressed him directly for the first time.
Lowah was affected by entrenched, repeatedly misdiagnosed schizophrenia when he killed Ms Foster, and was found not guilty of murder due to his mental incompetence.
Presenting her victim impact statement, Andrea Foster told Lowah he had stolen her “baby” and left the entire family with “a lifetime of mental health problems”.
Her family and supporters filled the court’s public gallery, holding photos of Ms Foster and bunches of sunflowers – her favourite flower.
“I still don’t believe someone could be that cruel to another human being, to a woman … it’s a cowardly act,” she said.
“My heart is broken and my mind is shattered – this is my pain, forever.”
Though aware of the court’s ruling, and the legal and health reasons for it, Andrea said she still did not believe that excused Lowah’s actions.
“Mental health is not an excuse for murder – murder is murder, there is no excuse,” she said.
“You are a bad human being and there will never be forgiveness for you.”
In October 2018, Lowah, 22, attacked Ms Foster outside the Colonnades Shopping Centre at Noarlunga, inflicting severe head injuries by striking her head onto a concrete path.
She was found lying facedown in a pool of blood by a cyclist who tried to save her life, while Lowah looked on saying “I did that”.
In June, Lowah was found not guilty of murder by reason of mental incompetence.
His schizophrenia, misdiagnosed since he was 15, caused the “bizarre, grandiose and persecutory” belief that he lived in a simulation.
Lowah believed killing Ms Foster would free him from “mind control” and reunite him with his “original parents” on another planet.
He had not only attacked other people prior to killing Ms Foster but also sought help from authorities, who left him on a voluntary medication regimen.
On Friday, the court also heard a statement written by Ms Foster’s eldest daughter, Amelia.
“Mum was great … she would always find something fun to do, whatever it was … she was the life of the party,” she wrote.
“She always gave us what she needed, she was a good mum … she was always out to give someone a hand … she did not deserve what happened to her.
“She was always there for someone, no matter what they had done to her beforehand – she was just a good person.”
Steven Milsteed, for Lowah, asked Andrea Foster’s victim impact statement be suppressed because it did not reflect the court’s ruling on his client’s mental state.
The Advertiser objected, saying the statement neither prejudiced the proper administration of justice nor dealt undue hardship to Lowah – the tests required, under law, for suppression.
It further argued any report of the case would accurately reflect the court’s ruling, and that it was in the public interest for the Foster family’s words to be heard.
Justice Sam Doyle said he was “persuaded” by The Advertiser’s arguments and declined to order suppression.
“It is plain to me that Ms Foster was an important and much-loved person in the lives of her family,” he said.
“They are, understandably, still grieving and coming to terms with their profound state of loss.”
He ordered Lowah serve a limiting term – a period under mental health supervision equal to an unaffected person’s prison term – of life, and be detained until further order.
“Lowah remains psychotic and delusional … he should be committed to James Nash House for the foreseeable future,” he said.