Stephen Bailey committed to stand trial for allegedly murdering mother
A MELBOURNE man accused of murdering his mother has been committed to stand trial after pleading not guilty on the basis of mental impairment.
A MELBOURNE man accused of murdering his mother has been committed to stand trial after pleading not guilty on the basis of mental impairment.
Stephen Patrick Bailey, 35, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to murdering Penny Bailey, 59, in Mont Albert North in Melbourne’s east in October last year.
“I understand that’s on the basis of mental impairment,” Magistrate Franz Holzer said as he committed Bailey to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.
Bailey’s sisters didn’t believe he was violent before he allegedly murdered their mother, the court heard.
His younger sisters, Belinda and Shannon Bailey, told the court they weren’t concerned about their brother living with their mother at the time and didn’t think he could be violent towards her.
Bailey was found nearly naked and running into traffic after he allegedly murdered his mother, a court heard on Tuesday.
Police were called to Kensington in Melbourne’s northwest on October 7 last year after receiving reports about the bizarre scene.
They found Bailey, an ex-VFL player, on a median strip in his underwear, the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court was told on Tuesday.
First Constable Nicholas Graham said Bailey looked disoriented and after his arrest, he was rambling, saying: “There’s cameras everywhere, people are watching us.”
Senior Constable Curtis Williams said Bailey was talking to himself and tried to bash his head on the asphalt.
The 35-year-old was taken to Thomas Embling psychiatric hospital by paramedic Michelle Brown, who said he was mumbling “about being (Greek philosopher) Aristotle”.
The body of Ms Bailey was found near Mullum Mullum Creek in Donvale in Melbourne’s east. Bailey was a regular customer at a Balwyn coffee shop managed by Lisa Himburg, she told the court.
He visited the establishment in a dishevelled state shortly after his mother’s alleged murder, the court heard.
Ms Himburg said Bailey was usually “very methodical” — always sitting at the same tables, ordering the same drinks, reading a book and then paying with cash. But on this day, an “out of sorts” Bailey stared into space, sat at a different table, and picked at the food he’d ordered.
“His mind was definitely somewhere else,” Ms Himburg said.
“Something wasn’t quite right.”
The waitress didn’t feel comfortable talking with Bailey and contacted investigators soon after the incident because she saw news reports that police were looking for him.
Bailey’s uncle and Penny Bailey’s brother, Greg Kerr, said Bailey had previously spoken to him about religion, philosophy and “the need for a new world order”.
“I took him to be a young man in search of his direction in life and his identity,” he said.
Mr Kerr, who also employed Bailey at his vineyard, said he felt betrayed by Bailey’s alleged crime.