A woman who twice hit her seven-year-old son with her vehicle has been found not guilty of attempted murder due to mental illness.
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Forensic psychiatrists found the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered from a delusional disorder leading her to believe her son was sexually abusing his sister.
On Wednesday, November 29, Bega District Court judge Anthony Blackmore found the woman not guilty due to mental illness of using an offensive weapon to commit an indictable offence.
The court heard two psychiatrists found she had untreated schizophrenia, auditory hallucinations and believed she was telepathic.
Judge Blackmore said, due to her delusions, the woman did not know her actions were wrong and there was “absolutely” no evidence of the alleged sexual abuse.
The psychiatrists also found no evidence of an intellectual disability or drug use.
The boy suffered a broken collarbone after the woman drove into him in Batehaven, south of Batemans Bay, in May 2016 as he walked in Corrigans Beach Reserve.
Witnesses helped the boy before he was taken to Batemans Bay Hospital.
Police arrested the woman at the scene, she was charged at Batemans Bay Police Station and remanded in custody.
Judge Blackmore said the woman had denied trying to kill her son, and said her intention was to protect her daughter.
A psychiatric report is to be presented to the court on February 16 next year, before the case is referred to the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
