The 21-year-old man who killed senior police officer, Joanne Shanahan (nee Panayiotou), has been found not guilty by reason of mental incompetence.
Harrison Kitt had been charged with two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and one count of causing harm by dangerous driving on 25 April, 2020. Apart from Ms Hanahan, a chief superintendent in the police force, the young driver had also caused the death of Tania McNeill during the accident in the fatal high speed crash at the intersection of Cross Rd and Fullerton Rd in Urrbrae.
Judge Paul Muscat said he agreed with expert reports from psychiatrists and found Mr Kitt not guilty of offences by reason of mental incompetence, however said Mr Kitt would be liable to supervision and several reports have been ordered to assess whether he should be conditionally released into the community.
READ MORE: Greek Australian superintendent Joanne Shanahan Panayiotou alleged killer pleads not guilty
The young man’s mother, Kathy, told reporters that her family was distraught about the losses families had faced as a result of their son’s actions. “Their losses are unimaginable; we hope they can find it in their hearts to forgive Harry for what happened even though it might be difficult for them to accept,” Ms Kitt, the mother, read in a statement to the media outside the court while fighting back tears.
“It was not his fault but the fault of a terrible and debilitating disorder that none of us knew he had.”
She said she was conscious of the “mixed reactions” the result of the court case would have, adding that some would find it “difficult to understand that what occurred can be explained by mental illness.”
READ MORE: Joanne Shanahan, a tribute to a remarkable woman that left us too soon
“We still can’t believe that we have lost our darling daughter. Our pride and joy is no longer with us,” Joanne’s father, Nikos Panayiotou, had told Neos Kosmos soon after the death of his daughter.
