Schizophrenic Man Who Brutally Killed His 'Demon' Wife Jailed For 10 Years

A 49-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday for brutally murdering his wife whom he believed was a demon.

Australian Paul Leslie Quirk told a Singapore court that he had heard voices asking him to "banish her back to the abyss" before attacking his wife, Christina Khoo Gek Hwa, with the sticks used in martial arts kali on Jan. 3, 2020.

Quirk also stabbed the family's 10-month-old poodle and threw it out of their home's third-floor balcony amid an episode of schizophrenia, reported The Strait Times.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong told the court that the couple had argued at their home the day before the murder. Quirk reportedly told his wife that he wanted to return to Australia.

Although he went to meet his brother, who was in Singapore for a visit, on the night of Jan. 2, he was advised to return to his wife. Quirk's brother accompanied him back home.

The next morning, the couple went out together but Quirk began hearing voices telling him that he had "a chance to stop this from getting worse." The voices told him that his wife was evil and staying with her would upset the order of things, the court heard.

He also saw a passerby wearing a marathon "finisher" T-shirt, which Quirk interpreted as "finish her." Upon returning home, he began hitting his wife with the kali sticks, following which she ran to the balcony, screaming for help. However, he continued assaulting her while shouting, "You die, you die!"

Neighbors witnessed the assault and called the police. After Khoo collapsed, Quirk took a knife from the kitchen and repeatedly stabbed her in the neck. After she died, he turned to the dog, killing it and throwing it from the balcony. He then sent a text message to his brother, saying that "it is done."

When police arrived at the residence, Quirk opened the door while covered in blood. He told the officers that he was Jesus Christ and his wife was a demon, so he had to kill her.

The prosecutor told the court that Quirk had been diagnosed with depression in 2001 and had experienced auditory hallucinations. He had attempted suicide twice, believing he could save the world by dying.

The prosecution sought at least a 10-year sentence to secure his compliance with medicine. Chong told the court that there was a risk of a violent relapse if Quirk stopped the medication, which had already happened in the past.

Meanwhile, Quirk's defense counsel asked for a jail term of not more than six or seven years. The accused also pleaded guilty to the crime.

Before sentencing, charges against him were reduced from murder, as his psychiatric condition was assessed to have substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts.