Young Melbourne man Ross Konidaris has been found not guilty of killing his grandparents and setting their Yaraville home on fire in 2012, due to his mental illness.
Konidaris, 26, has paranoid schizophrenia and did not know what he was doing was wrong, Victorian Supreme Court judge Terry Forrest ruled.
As the court heard Konidaris was addicted to cannabis and was taking cocaine and methylamphetamine, doubt was raised over whether he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis.
However, three psychiatrists agreed he had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
On 22 December, 2012, fire crews were called to his grandparents’ house in Yarraville, that was caught on fire.
The bodies of Triantafillo, 81, and Stavroula Konidaris, 84, were found in their bedroom.
The court heard Ross Konidaris had sat in a rear shed for hours working up the courage to kill the couple. He set fire to the house after shooting them.
As a result of a paranoid fantasy, Konidaris was convinced he had to kill his grandparents. The hearing was told he believed that his grandfather had killed someone in the past and that people were out for revenge. He thought he was in danger because he shared the same name as his grandfather.
Ross Konidaris’ family told the court that in the lead up to the killings, he was paranoid and acting unusually. He would walk around the kitchen late at night with a knife in his pants. He would search for a bomb under the house and check windows and locks during the night, the family members said.
Konidaris will remain in the Port Phillip Prison psychiatric unit and will undergo a further psychiatric evaluation. The judge will then have to decide where Konidaris will be held and for how long.
Source: ABC News