A horror movie buff who chopped her mum’s head off after stabbing her more than 100 times has been found guilty of manslaughter but exonerated of murder.
Jessica Camilleri, 27, beheaded her mum in a wild knife attack after an argument before leaving her head on a path outside their residence in St Clair, Sydney.
During the seven-day trial, which finished on Thursday, a court heard disturbing details of how Jessica Camilleri stabbed her mother, Rita, in the neck and head, before carving out her eyeballs, tongue and nose.
Jessica Camilleri was exonerated of murdering her mum due to her chronology of mental illness.
She told police she then took her 57-year-old mother’s severed head and tried to show it to a neighbour for proof, but that it fell from her hands and anchored on the path.
Crown prosecutor Tony McCarthy told the jury how the rest of the body was discovered in parts on the kitchen floor.
Numerous knives were found at the bloodstained scene, some of which were damaged.
On the night of her death, Jessica Camilleri called emergency services and said she was acting in self-defence.
She claimed her mum had grabbed her by the hair, dragged her to the kitchen and attempted to stab her first.
Jessica Camilleri later admitted it was the other way around, and she was the one who reached for the weapon.
During an interview, she stated she wanted to give her a taste of her own medicine, but not to kill her.
She told a shrink her horrible deeds were motivated by violent movies.
Chilling Facebook posts made before the ghoulish act in July 2019 showed Jessica Camilleri’s fixation with brutal movies, including the blood-filled Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
She said horror movies such as Jeepers Creepers were her favoured films in the world.
Jessica Camilleri’s younger sister Kristy Torrisi testified in court she loved to watch movies that involved killing or dismemberment and would pause and rewind at specific parts.
Her defence team said Jessica Camilleri had suffered from a psychiatric illness, and the court heard Rita had once paid a medium AUD2,500 (£1,380) to get a demon out of her.
Her sister, Kirsty Torrisi, said she took her to a female spirit communicator as she was desperate for anything to help.
The NSW Supreme Court jury was told how Jessica Camilleri, then 25, asked police at the scene whether her mum’s head could be stitched back on.
Hopefully, Jessica Camilleri will get help in a secure mental health hospital because she definitely needs it, and her mother employing psychics to get demons out of her wouldn’t have helped her mental condition, and we should all be pleased that she’s not being set free.
However, I don’t believe people who do things like this can ever be truly okay to go out and mingle in the community anymore, and it’s not worth the risk to others.
