Hayden Leigh Kidd: Young man jailed after killing grandmother Shirley Kidd during drug-induced psychosis

A young man who hacked his grandmother to death believing she was his “sadistic” stepfather could be released in months, a court has been told.

A young man has been jailed for five years after hacking his grandmother to death during a cannabis-induced psychosis.

Hayden Leigh Kidd, 22, returned before the Supreme Court of Victoria on Thursday after pleading guilty to manslaughter over the death of Shirley Kidd, 67, two years ago.

He showed no emotion as his sentence was read out by Justice Michael Croucher.

Mrs Kidd was found dead in the garage of her Darley home, about 60km northwest of Melbourne, on May 28, 2022, by her husband, Robin, after he was woken by their seven-year-old grandchild.

“Hayden did it, he hurt mama,” the young boy said.

Kidd was jailed for five years. Picture: NewsWire/ David Crosling

The court was told Kidd, then 20, had woken up psychotic after smoking a small amount of cannabis and mistakenly believed his cousin, asleep with their grandmother, was himself.

In Kidd’s deluded state, he believed his grandmother was his abusive stepfather and grabbed the boy before fleeing out of the room, the court was told.

Justice Croucher said Mrs Kidd was concerned for the boy as she followed Kidd into the garage.

There, Kidd released the boy before swinging a mattock into his grandmother’s head, killing her instantly.

“This (sentencing) is no easy task, for this is an unusual case,” Justice Croucher said.

“On the one hand the killing itself was gruesome and objectively grave; after all an innocent person was hacked to death in her own home.”

Hayden Kidd had been living with his grandparents since 2015. Picture: Supplied/ Facebook.

But Justice Croucher said Kidd’s moral culpability was very low given the crime was committed in the “grips of a florid psychosis”.

He noted Kidd had suffered extreme abuse almost daily at the hands of his stepfather from the age of two.

“His mind was so disordered he believed his grandmother was his sadistic stepfather,” he said.

“It’s plain his awareness of what he was doing at the time was severely compromised.”

Justice Croucher noted that but for Kidd’s drug-induced psychosis, he would have had a defence of not guilty by mental impairment.

Shirley Kidd (left) was killed in her home. Picture: Facebook/Supplied

The court was told Mrs Kidd had likely died instantly but was found with at least four blows from the garden tool.

Kidd was initially charged with murder; however, the case was resolved to a guilty plea of manslaughter mid-trial in April after two psychiatrists cast doubt on allegations he had intended to kill Mrs Kidd in his “utterly deluded state”.

Kidd was jailed for five years with a non-parole period of 2½ years.

Given he has spent about two years and two months since the offending, he will be eligible for release later this year.

Justice Croucher urged those responsible for deciding parole in Victoria to release Kidd with appropriate supports into the community.

“While the question of whether and when he’s released on parole is a matter for the adult parole board, given the risk of institutionalisation identified … I would urge the board to release Mr Kidd on parole as soon as he was eligible,” he said.

Originally published as Hayden Leigh Kidd: Young man jailed after killing grandmother Shirley Kidd during drug-induced psychosis