Famed legal name found to be paranoid killer
When police arrived at a small urban unit to arrest an alleged murderer, they found an agitated, paranoid man who repeatedly denied raping or touching anyone.
In body-worn footage, William David Bugmy is seen handcuffed and distressed as he sits on the stairs outside his unit.
“They are talking to me with voices,” he told police officers.
“They say I’m a rapist, man, I’m not a rapist.”
“I’m not someone who touches children.”
While he repeatedly asked for a glass of water and some cigarettes, he told police he was paranoid and that people were breaking into his house and putting things in his food.
He claimed he had not seen stabbing victim Talbot Ward, 63, for weeks and denied any involvement in his death the night before on July 21, 2023.
Far from being an anonymous child in legal circles, Bugmy has become synonymous with a deprived childhood.
A 2013 ruling on his past became one of the nation’s most frequently cited Supreme Court sentencing decisions, holding judges and magistrates accountable for deprivation when sentencing criminals.
Bugmy’s ongoing psychological problems were revealed on Friday when the NSW Supreme Court ruled him not criminally responsible for Mr Ward’s death.
In reports before the court, two forensic psychiatrists diagnosed him with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.
One doctor described consistent reporting of extreme psychosocial deprivation, witnessing abuse and violence, early exposure to alcohol and the criminal justice system, and a variety of other issues consistent with an unstable childhood.
“(At the time of Mr. Ward’s death) he had an ongoing disorder of thought, mood and perception that was clinically significant and impaired his emotional well-being, judgment and behaviour,” Dr Adam Martin wrote.
Based on expert reports, the Crown and defense agreed that Bugmy’s mental state meant he was unfit to stand trial or respond to the charges.
At a private hearing, Acting Judge Robert Allan Hulme agreed, finding that the act of murdering Mr Ward had been proven but that Bugmy was not criminally responsible due to mental ill health.
Based on the evidence and expert reports, the judge found that Bugmy was unable to reason with a reasonable degree of common sense and coolness that his action was wrong.
The court heard Mr Ward was planning to go out to celebrate his birthday when he was killed.
Minutes after a friend arrived at his unit, Mr Ward was attacked by Bugmy.
An eyewitness recalled Bugmy shouting “where’s the money” as he stabbed the victim at least once in the heart and once in the liver.
Bugmy remains in custody.
