Man who thought he avenged his own father believed he was Adolf Hitler reincarnated
A MAN who believed he was Hitler reincarnated, bashed a man thinking he was avenging his own father who died in the Black Saturday bushfires.
A PSYCHOTIC man who thought he was Adolf Hitler reincarnated, bashed a father of seven to death with a baseball bat because he thought he was avenging his own father who died in the Black Saturday bushfires.
James William Gibson attacked Glen Sullivan without warning on Good Friday and then, with an odd look on his face, said: “He killed my dad. I’ve seen it in the smoke.”
Gibson was sentenced to 15 years’ jail on Monday and must serve 11 before he is eligible for parole.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said Gibson was in the grip of a drug-induced psychosis and likely suffering from schizophrenia when he murdered Mr Sullivan in a friend’s home in Tyres, 160km east of Melbourne, last year.
The 20-year-old killer later told a psychiatrist he thought he was Hitler reincarnated, and that his body and mind were being controlled by a Nazi regime.
Gibson hit Mr Sullivan from behind and then bludgeoned his victim a second time as he lay defenceless on the floor.
Mr Sullivan was left in a “sickening state”, with a skull fracture and catastrophic brain injury, and died a week after being rushed to hospital.
Gibson left on foot and was arrested by police by the side of the road.
Both men had been using the drug ice in the lead up to Mr Sullivan’s brutal death, the court heard.
Justice Croucher said Gibson was “so psychotic” at the time of the murder, he didn’t know his behaviour was wrong.
His violent psychosis was brought on by voluntary drug use, but Gibson wouldn’t have known the effect the drugs would have on him.
Gibson, in his delusional mental state, seemed to think Mr Sullivan was responsible for his father’s death in February 2009, but Justice Croucher did not believe he planned to murder the father of seven when he launched his attack.
The judge said it had been hard to reach an appropriate sentence for the 20-year-old, balancing the killer’s age, mental state and prospects of rehabilitation with the “frightening and brutal” circumstances of Mr Sullivan’s death.
“It was a murder committed without provocation or warning, and in brutal and disturbing circumstances,” Justice Croucher said.
Gibson has served more than 500 days in pre-sentence custody.