Muesli company boss Peter Pavlis had dementia when he stabbed Jennifer Borchardt to death: lawyer
AN elderly muesli company boss who stabbed his co-director to death at her Richmond home was suffering dementia — but was not mentally ill, a court has heard.
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AN elderly muesli company boss who stabbed his co-director to death was suffering dementia — but was not mentally ill, a court has heard.
Peter Pavlis, the 76-year-old founder of The Muesli Company, stabbed Jennifer Borchardt to death at her Richmond home in July 2017.
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She was found in a pool of blood by her boyfriend, who sounded the alarm.
Pavlis pleaded guilty to murder at an early stage with his legal team flagging mental impairment may have played a part.
But today defence counsel Peter Morrissey, SC, told the Supreme Court psychiatric assessments had ruled out mental impairment or fitness to plead issues.
“It’s just the sad case of a 76-year-old man with dementia,” he said.
Pavlis, who is in custody, will return to the Supreme Court for a plea hearing in July.
He had been in a business partnership with Ms Borchardt, 49, for 18 years.
The Muesli Company, which Pavlis founded in 1984, expanded from a small food kitchen in Fitzroy to a state-of-the-art facility in Thomastown.
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