Father Who Drowned Baby Daughter ‘To Save The World’ Acquitted of Murder

A man who threw his baby daughter into a river, believing the act would save the world, has been found not guilty of murder on the grounds of mental illness. The 49-year-old man was acquitted by New South Wales Supreme Court in Australia following a judge-alone trial on Wednesday.

The man, who remains unnamed due to legal reasons, reportedly took his 9-month-old child to the banks of Tweed River and tossed her into the water. His daughter’s body was found on on Nov. 17, 2018, by a teenager on a midnight walk. Witnesses saw the body “bundled and bobbing in the storm-tossed waters” floating out to sea, the Guardian reported.

“How dare you ask me things of God ... I drowned her,” the father answered, when asked by the mother about their baby.

The homeless father had previously tried to give the baby away, convinced she was corrupt and would bring an end to the world on her first birthday, Prosecutor Brendan Campbell told the court.

The judge-alone trial also heard the admissions made by the accused to an undercover police officer. The man admitted in a police interview that he believed it was his prophecy to take his daughter’s life. He also declared that he was “sacrificing her to save all the children of the world.”

The court heard that the man, who had a history of mental illness, had stopped taking antipsychotic medication two years prior to the incident. He started to experience delusions as early as in 2001 and admitted that he had heard voices telling him to “kidnap and drown a baby.” Three years later, he had hallucinations of a man eating a baby, ABC News reported. The man also had a history of alcohol and drug abuse.

Justice Helen Wilson returned her special verdict to the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, explaining that the man could not be held criminally responsible for the act. The terrible tragedy was allegedly a result of him laboring under the “defect of reason” at that time, and he did not understand his actions were morally wrong.

“The events of 17 November 2018 must be considered a terrible tragedy by which the life of a baby, described by others as happy and beautiful, was taken”, the judge added, according to ABC News.

The man appeared via a video link from prison and hung his head for most of the hearing.

Forensic psychiatrist David Greenberg described the case as “a preventable tragedy.” He also concluded that the man was suffering from chronic schizophrenia.

The man was hospitalized at least 35 times over the years for his mental illness. The family was taking shelter in a shopping center and led an erratic lifestyle. Even though the mental health services tried to maintain contact with him, his unpredictable way of life made it impossible for them to track him for treatment.

The court ordered the man to be detained in a mental health facility until he is deemed fit for release and not a threat to society or himself.