Daughter, Who Stabbed And Beheaded Mom, A ‘Horror Movie Fan’

An Australian woman with a history of mental illness, who allegedly stabbed her mother 100 times, decapitating her, was inspired by horror movies, a court heard Thursday.

Jessica Camilleri, 27, is on trial for the gruesome murder of her mother Rita Camiller, 57, at the New South Wales Supreme Court in Sydney.

Rita Camilleri was stabbed to death at her home in the western Sydney suburb of St Clair on July 20, 2019. After the murder, the daughter carried her mother’s head to a neighbor and asked for help to call the police.

The police came home to find the decapitated body in the kitchen and the rest of the body parts scattered around.

Crown Prosecutor Tony McCarthy told the court that there were multiple stab wounds to the victim’s head and neck that ultimately led to her decapitation.

“I just kept stabbing and stabbing and stabbing her and I took off her head," Jessica Camilleri said, according to a video recording of a police interrogation that was played in court, reported local news outlet The Sydney Morning Herald. She also broke three knives while brutally attacking her mother.

Kristy Torrisi, Camilleri’s other daughter, told the court that her mother was desperately trying to “get the demon out” of Jessica. She had reportedly paid $2500 to an exorcism group to help her with it, reported local news outlet News.com.au.

The prosecutor told the court that on the previous night of the murder, the mother had reported Camilleri to the police after she had abused and threatened a neighbor.

This had created tensions between them and a doctor at the National Home Doctor Service was consulted. The doctor reported that Camilleri “appeared agitated and annoyed but not aggressive" and possibly under the “influence of substance."

Camilleri has not pleaded guilty to the murder. Her lawyers argue that her judgments were impaired due to her mental illness.

The court heard that Camilleri had suffered social, behavioral and learning difficulties, including ADHD since her childhood. She was later diagnosed with a mild to moderate intellectual disability and rage disorder.

She had a history of assault both towards her family members and other random people. McCarthy told the court that she had previously threatened many people over the phone that she will “cut their head off with a knife.”

She told forensic psychologist David Greenberg that she was a big fan of horror movies that showed dismembering of bodies, reported The Age.

When asked about the wounds found on her mother’s body, she told him that she did it when she got very angry.

“ I think I had sick thoughts. I used to watch horror movies. I got it off horror movies," she said. She also mentioned “Texas Chainsaw Massacre," "Jeepers Creepers" and "Saw” as her inspiration. “One of them, where the guy killed all the guys. I remember... he cut off their heads and removed their eyes and tongue," she added.