Elderly man Ernest Fluder unfit to stand trial for wife’s murder
An elderly man accused of stabbing his wife to death at their new home will not face trial, with a judge labelling the case ‘tragic’.
An 85-year-old man has been found unfit to stand trial for the stabbing murder of his wife at their Melbourne home.
Ernest Fluder is charged with the murder of his wife Lucia in their Hadfield home in the city’s north between November 20 to 21, 2019.
“This is obviously a tragic case,” Justice Lex Lasry said at the hearing.
The couple’s son found his mother, who had been stabbed to death in their home on November 21, the Supreme Court of Victoria was told on Wednesday.
The couple had been married for 60 years and moved to the property from NSW about five days before the woman died.
The pair had wanted to be closer to their son, the court was told.
Mr Fluder was at the scene when his wife’s body was found, but police were unable to question him at the time, the court was told.
Two experts found Mr Fluder was significantly cognitively impaired and was not fit to stand trial for the alleged murder because of severe dementia.
Neuropsychiatrist Dennis Velakoulis told the court during his assessment with the elderly man that he had been unable to determine his age or what country he was in.
Mr Fluder was born in Austria and at one point told the professor he was about 17 and lived with his parents.
He was not coherent or able to understand questions being asked of him, Professor Velakoulis said.
Mr Fluder had “severe dementia” that was most likely Alzheimer’s or vascular dementia, the neuropsychiatrist told the court.
A senior clinical psychologist who also assessed Mr Fluder said he was most likely suffering from Alzheimer’s and while in custody had a fall in November 2019.
That injury likely “coincided” with rapid deterioration in his cognitive state, the court was told.
Justice Lasry found beyond the balance of probabilities that Mr Fluder was unfit to stand trial and was also satisfied there was no prospect he would become fit within 12 months.
In Victorian law there is a presumption an accused person is able to stand trial unless they meet certain criteria.
This includes whether the accused is unable to understand the nature of the charge, if they’re unable to enter a plea, unable to understand the nature of the trial, unable to follow the course of a trial, unable to instruct their lawyers or unable to understand evidence against them.
A special hearing will be held in June to hear the evidence in the case.