Serial wiper blade snapper suffered from mental illness
A woman went on a bizarre and extended crime spree across the eastern suburbs by breaking windscreen wipers on parked cars.
Southern Courier
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A woman who went on a bizarre crime spree across the eastern suburbs by breaking windscreen wipers on parked cars has had charges dropped in court.
Lucy-Ann Kelly, 43, who suffers from schizophrenia, damaged at least 16 parked vehicles across Randwick, Coogee and Clovelly last year.
The Randwick woman caused thousands of dollars worth of damage by bending or snapping windscreen wipers on the vehicles, eventually being caught on September 25 following almost three months of offending.
She pleaded guilty to 16 destroy/damage property charges at Waverley Local Court on Wednesday and her defence applied for the matter to be dealt with under section 32 of the Mental Health Act.
Her defence said she was suffering from a mental illness at the time of the offending and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia.
She said Ms Kelly had since spent time in hospital and begun treatment for her mental illness.
“At the time of the offence she was living in a boarding house and was upset and angry with her work situation and was coming to terms with why she was not getting more work.”
Magistrate Allison Hawkins granted the application, meaning Ms Kelly will be dealt with by mental health professionals rather than the criminal justice system.
“Yes you caused a lot of people a lot of nuisance but it is also clear that you were sick at the time and your sickness lead to the kind of behaviour that you showed.”
She was caught by police on September 25 when witnesses saw her damage seven parked cars on Fern St, Clovelly.
When police arrested and questioned her, she said the reason she caused all the damage was because “she just felt angry”, the agreed facts stated.