Deluded man who murdered beloved Sydney neighbour with his car locked up - but not in prison

A man who ran down his beloved neighbour and killed him over a domestic matter has been locked up in a mental health ward until he‘s no longer a danger to society.

A fiery and deranged man, who ran down his elderly neighbour in his own driveway, has been found guilty of murder but won‘t be sent to prison because he was mentally unwell, a court has ruled.

Paul Hughes, 77, was the “pleasant” caretaker of a housing block in suburban Croydon and one of its seven residents in 2020.

Among Mr Hughes‘ neighbours was the “difficult” Terrance Edward Jackson - a man not shy of a confrontation with his fellow residents.

Jackson, 41, had locked horns with many of his neighbours but in March 2020 he turned to violence after a stoush with Hughes over some domestic matter, the NSW Supreme Court said in November.

Jackson had parked his Hyundai at the back of the property after a fight with Hughes on the afternoon of 21 March, 2020.

Mr Hughes was standing in the driveway at 7pm when Jackson, behind the wheel of his car, drove toward the beloved caretaker.

It‘s unclear, the court was told, whether Mr Hughes was simply standing in the driveway by coincidence or whether Jackson had arranged for him to be there.

Either way Jackson smashed into Mr Hughes, fatally injuring him, and drove off down the street.

Other residents rushed to help Mr Hughes but he died in the driveway of his home.

Later that night police spoke to Jackson over the phone - he was at his mothers home in Lilyfield.

Paul Hughes, 77, died after being run down by Terrence Jackson near his home in Croydon. Picture: 9News

Officers swooped at 4:15 the next morning and charged him with causing the death of his neighbour.

It was later reported Jackson had fought with Mr Hughes over a shared clothesline.

But court documents reveal the highly intelligent and educated Jackson had a “history of acrimony” and suffered from ”bizarre, delusional beliefs”.

Mental health experts concluded Jackson had a schizoaffective disorder with auditory hallucinations, was highly irritable and held “grandiose beliefs”.

His delusions made him feel persecuted, experts said, and had pushed him to clash with other prison inmates since his arrest.

Jackson even made strange requests in prison - asking for a drink of saline to stave off confusion.

“(Jackson) was afraid that the victim was intending to harm him and considered he may have hurt him by stabbing him,” one doctor said.

“He justified this belief on the basis that he could hear the victim stating ‘I’m going to kill ya’.”

The court found Mr Hughes had done nothing to incite Jackson‘s wrath.

“Tragically the two persons crossed paths on this particular day, at a time when, on the evidence, (Jackson) had mental health problems,” Justice Peter Johnson said.

The Justice found Jackson was guilty of murder but he was “not criminally responsible” because of his mental illness.

The court locked Jackson away as a forensic patient until the Mental Health Tribunal is satisfied he will not “seriously endanger” the public or himself.

His custody will be reviewed every six months and if he deteriorates he could be locked up again.