Alleged killer Bhanu Kirkman ‘clearly psychotic’ at time of Bellambi mum Kristie Powell’s death
A court has heard a man accused of murdering a Wollongong mother has a long history of mental illness, allegedly believing he was part of the Indian military and was tasked to ‘assassinate’ her.
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A man accused of stabbing a Bellambi mum to death allegedly made a plan to “assassinate” her, believing she was a “professional murderer” and terrorist responsible for the September 11 bombings.
Bhanu Kirkman faced the first day of his judge-alone trial in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, after he was charged with the brutal stabbing murder of Bellambi mother-of-one Kristie Powell in October last year.
Kirkman pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder, based on his long history of mental illness, which allegedly led him to believe he was part of the Indian military, and that Ms Powell, 39, had kidnapped him as a child and was responsible for the September 11 bombing attack.
Psychiatrists from both the defence and Crown agreed Kirkman was “clearly psychotic”, with both their reports noting he had delusional beliefs, bizarre behaviour and said he heard voices, which allegedly encouraged him to attack Ms Powell.
The defence argued Kirkman was clearly suffering from a mental illness at the time of the alleged murder, while the Crown argued he knew what he had done was “legally unacceptable”, but was unable to appreciate his actions were morally wrong.
Mr Kirkman first met Ms Powell in 2014, when he began working for her, but after their friendship fell apart in 2015, the court heard Mr Kirkman allegedly began harassing her.
The Crown alleged Mr Kirkman became fixated on her, and would at times send her hundreds of threatening messages a day, one of which read “die Kristie die”.
On Tuesday, the court heard Kirkman’s preparations for Ms Powell’s alleged murder began long before it was tragically carried out on October 4.
On October 2, while staying at a youth hostel in Melbourne, Kirkman was allegedly captured on CCTV as he bought a large hunting knife and gloves, as well as a train ticket to the Illawarra area.
Two days later, just before midnight on October 4, Kirkman arrived at Ms Powell’s Lorking Street home.
The court heard Kirkman allegedly ripped off her fly screen and forced his way into the home through the front door. Ms Powell ran to protect her five-month-old baby boy, locking herself in a room with him. But Kirkman allegedly forced his way in, stabbing her several times in the chest and back as she struggled to defend herself.
Sadly she died at the home, and was discovered by a friend a few hours later as her baby boy screamed from his cot.
After the alleged stabbing, Kirkman left, allegedly dumping his mobile phone at Corrimal station, before changing his clothes. Kirkman allegedly fled to Maitland, where he was found after a tip-off from the public on October 8.
After arresting him, the court heard police found the knife allegedly used to murder Ms Powell, still covered in her blood, as well as shoes which allegedly matched the imprint of those found at her home.
The court also heard Kirkman made full admission to the murder, allegedly telling the arresting officers “yeah I killed her, it’s all legit. I’m in the Indian military. She is the eight of diamonds, it had to be done.”
They also found a notebook in his possession, which allegedly featured a “death list” with Ms Powell’s name in the number one spot, as well as a “plan” titled “Assassination 921058: Kristie Powell”.
Kirkman had also listed names for himself in the notebook, including ‘The Reaper’, ‘Venom’ and ‘the sun at the centre of the universe’.
In an interview with police, Kirkman allegedly said Ms Powell was a “professional murderer” and that he was associated with Russian federal security forces, telling them Chinese special forces would rescue him from prison in two weeks if he was locked up.
On Tuesday, the court heard two psychiatrists had visited Kirkman in jail since he was charged. Their reports detailed Kirkman’s long history of drug use, which began with cannabis at age 14, and progressed to meth use by the age of 23. They noted he was the school captain of a Sydney private primary school in Year 6, and that he had been studying at university before mental health conditions landed him in hospital on several occasions.
Kirkman allegedly told one of the psychiatrists, he didn’t believe he had a mental illness and was “feeling well”, despite saying he had a right to kill Ms Powell due to her involvement in the bombings, and because he had “royal lineage”.
He allegedly acknowledged he regretted Ms Powell’s details death, saying he “knew it was wrong” but that he wanted to do it for revenge, because “she was a bad person”.
The psychiatrists said Kirkman was “divorced from reality”, suggesting symptoms of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, with both suggesting he could be found not guilty due to his mental illness.
However, the Crown asked Judge Richard Button to consider the fact Kirkman had allegedly dumped his phone and fled the scene, and showed enough emotional remorse to tell one of the psychiatrists he regretted the alleged murder because “it got me into trouble and she did not need to die”.
Judge Richard Button adjourned the case this afternoon and will hand down his verdict tomorrow afternoon.