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Australia (July 2007): Scientology link to murders

Introduction

Update, 30 July 2008: Linda Walicki was found "not guilty by reason of mental illness" by Judge Michael Grove. See the judgment here. Both the expert psychiatrists retained by the defense and the prosecution agreed on the diagnosis of schizophrenia for Linda Walicki.

An important passage from the expert psychiatrist who evaluated Linda Walicki following the tragedy:

“Ms Walicki is a twenty six year old woman who appears to have developed her first acute psychotic episode in 2006. She had auditory perceptual disturbances, religious delusional beliefs and a severe behavioural disturbance characterised by ‘manic’ type symptoms. She was admitted to Banks House from 24 October until 15 October (sic -November) 2006. Diagnosed with schizophrenia she was treated with antipsychotic medication.

An attempt was made to place her on a community treatment order but that was apparently resisted by a private psychiatrist. Her treatment in the community continued with the assistance of a general practitioner and the private psychiatrist. Her father/family may have resisted her being treated with medication because of her father’s beliefs in Scientology and the treating psychiatrist appears to have been of the view that her psychotic symptoms were the result of medication she had been prescribed.

Unfortunately, she appears to have been ineffectually treated or under treated and as a result her psychotic illness persisted. In the context of her psychosis she attacked family members, killing her father a younger sister. ...” – Dr Bruce Westmore.
The private psychiatrist who was of the view that Linda Walicki's “psychotic symptoms were the result of medication” is Dr. Yolande Lucire. From Dr. Yolande Lucire's web site content, it appears that at least some of her views on psychiatric medications align well with those of Scientology front's Citizens Commission on Human Rights. It would also be interesting to know who was the general practitioner.

So, although the father sought psychiatric help for his daughter, it could be that he sought help from a psychiatrist which was not antipathic with Scientology's stance on conventional psychiatric medications. Here is an ongoing discussion on alt.religion.scientology on Dr. Lucire's possible links to Scientology.

The events occurred on 5 July 2007.

At this point, according to court evidence, another case of Scientology doctrine interfering with the treatment of a serious mental illness (Scientology dogma holds that psychiatry is 'evil').

Linda Walicki, 25 year-old, apparently suffering from a serious mental illness, stabbed members of her family:

  • Michael (Mike) Walicki
  • Kathryn (Catherine?) Walicki
    • Sister, 15 year-old, dead.
  • Sue Walicki
    • Mother, 52 year-old, seriously injured.

    Source: Sidney Morning Herald, July 7, 2007, p. 6: "'It's not her fault, she's sick': mother's cry after family tragedy" (the online version doesn't mention the names.)

Another terrible tragedy which could certainly have been avoided. I hope she finally gets the treatment she obviously needs. Still, now there is a young woman and a mother who will have to live with these terrible events imprinted in their memories for the rest of their lives.

Scientologists response to this is to run and hide, and cover-up, and/or lie. How about a pause for insightful thinking over the silly "psychiatry is evil" dogma? Little chance unfortunately, as a similar tragedy occurred in 2003 with Jeremy Perkins, and yet, in October 2006, David Miscavige and followers applauded to images of psychiatrists being machine-gunned...

Related topics:
 
«Virginia Steward from the Church of Scientology Sidney headquarters, claims this tragedy is entirely the fault of psychiatry.»
— Seven Network's Today Tonight
«Policy is that we assign any case or upset in Scientology to past damage and interference with the person by medicine or psychiatry.»
— Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, HCOPL of 29 June 1971, "Confidential"
«Because in just the last eight weeks came 37,824 column inches of anti-psych press to "mess them up but good"—and that's our 2006 campaign for the Global Obliteration of Psychiatry. »
— Scientology leader David Miscavige, in "Psychiatry: Global Obliteration", International Scientology News 35
«"A woman is safer in a park at midnight than on a psychiatrist's couch," booms [David] Miscavige, backed by savage graphics of psychiatrists - or "psychs" as he calls them - being machine-gunned out of existence.»
— journalist David Cohen, in "Tom's aliens target City's 'planetary rulers'", Evening Standard (London)
«Mike Rinder, a very high Cult official and head of the Cult Office of Special Affairs, proudly presented his statistics about putting "psychs" in jail. You see, he accompanied this presentation with extremely EVIL INTENTIONED images of "psychs" being hung, being thrown in the toilet with excrement and of "psychs" going down the sewer.»
— former scientologist Michael Leonard Tilse, in "False Purpose Rundown"
«I was indoctrinated for four years with the idea that the world in which we lived was the product of a conspiracy of psychologists and psychiatrists.»
— former scientologist Martin Ottman, in "Affidavit of Martin Ottmann (19 April 1996)"

In the news

ABC News (July 30, 2008): "Scientology dad sought help for daughter before stabbings"

A Sydney judge has found a father's association with Scientology did not affect the treatment of his daughter's mental illness before she stabbed him and her sister to death.

The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with killing her father and sister in July last year and inflicting grievous bodily harm on her mother.

Justice Michael Grove today found her not guilty by reason of mental illness.

The court had previously been told the woman was denied treatment for schizophrenia because of her father's beliefs in Scientology.

But Justice Grove found the woman's father had sought psychiatric help for his daughter's psychotic condition, despite his apparent belief in Scientology which is reluctant to recognise the benefits of such treatment.

He has ordered the woman be kept under psychiatric care in hospital while the Mental Health Review Tribunal considers her case.

ABC News (July 28, 2008): "Murder accused mentally ill, court told"

A Sydney woman charged with the stabbing murder of her father and sister has pleaded not guilty due to mental illness.

The 26-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with murdering her father and younger sister at their Revesby home in Sydney's south-west in July 2007.

She has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder her mother.

The court previously heard the woman was diagnosed with a mental illness but refused to take medication because of her parents' belief in Scientology.

Justice Grove has ordered the woman be kept in a medium security unit at Long Bay jail.

He will make a judgement on the matter next week.

ABC News (April 4, 2008): "Woman pleads not guilty to stabbing Scientologists"

A Sydney woman has been ordered to stand trial after pleading not guilty to the stabbing murders of her father and sister.

The 26-year-old will also defend a charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder her mother.

The attack allegedly happened at the family's Revesby home in Sydney's south-west in July last year.

The Supreme Court was told mental health will be an issue at the trial, which will start in July.

It is alleged that the woman was denied psychiatric help because of her parents' belief in Scientology.

Herald Sun (February 18, 2008): "Scientologist stabbing trial to go ahead"

A SYDNEY woman will stand trial on charges of murdering her Scientologist father and teenage sister.

The 25-year-old, who cannot be named, is facing two counts of murder and a third of maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder over a frenzied stabbing at her southwestern Sydney home in July last year.

It is alleged that the woman, who has been diagnosed with schizo-affective disorder, fatally stabbed her 53-year-old father and 15-year-old sister in a psychotic rage at the family's Revesby home.

She is also accused of critically wounding her 52-year-old mother during the attack.

The woman's parents had allegedly denied her access to psychiatric medication due to their Scientology beliefs.

Burwood Local Court Magistrate Jane Mottley today committed her to stand trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court.

It is understood she will mount a mental illness defence.

Sydney Morning Herald (October 16, 2007): "Woman accused of murder denied bail"

[...] The woman was diagnosed with a mental illness last year, and the court had previously heard she was denied treatment at Bankstown Hospital because of her parents' Scientology beliefs. She instead sought private treatment and was prescribed medication, which she stopped taking in January.

However, her parents allowed her to restart the medicine three weeks before the stabbings as her symptoms worsened, a prior court hearing was told. [...]

The Australian (September 28, 2007): "Scientologists given accused's psychiatric file"

The Church of Scientology has been granted access to a confidential psychiatric report tendered as evidence in the trial of a Sydney woman accused of murdering her family earlier this year.

The 25-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was diagnosed with a psychotic illness last year but allegedly discouraged by her parents from taking her prescribed medication because of their Scientology beliefs.

The report, by psychiatrist Mark Cross, who examined the woman after her arrest, said her parents allowed her to resume the medication shortly before the attack, in which her father and sister were stabbed to death.

"She had a history of being diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 at Bankstown Hospital, but follow-up from the mental health team was apparently denied by her parents because of their alleged Scientology beliefs," the report says.

The Australian Church of Scientology applied for and was granted access to the report by Burwood Local Court, where the woman is on trial, although reporters were subsequently told the document would not be publicly released. [...]

The Australian (September 25, 2007): "Murder accused seeks mental unit transfer"

A SYDNEY woman charged with stabbing her father and sister to death in their suburban home is seeking to be released to a hospital for patients with mental illnesses.

The 25-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was diagnosed with a psychotic illness last year but was allegedly denied treatment by her parents because of their belief in Scientology.

In a brief hearing at Burwood Local Court in Sydney's inner-west yesterday, the woman's barrister, John Stratton SC, said he would seek bail on the condition that she would reside in a locked unit at the city's Cumberland Hospital.

The psychiatrist treating the woman would give evidence in support of this application, Mr Stratton said. If bail is granted, the woman, at present held in the psychiatric unit at Long Bay prison, will move to the hospital's Bunya unit, a 24-bed "medium secure forensic facility".

The woman, who has also been charged with committing grievous bodily harm on her 52-year-old mother, was arrested on July 5 outside her home at Revesby, in Sydney's southwest, where her father, 53, and sister, 15, had been stabbed to death.

A psychiatric report previously tendered in court said the woman had been diagnosed at Bankstown Hospital as having a mental illness, but her parents denied her treatment. [...]

Herald Sun (July 19, 2007): "Woman recovers from 'Scientology' stabbing"

A SYDNEY woman allegedly stabbed by her daughter in an attack that killed two other family members has been released from hospital.

The 52-year-old mother of six, who cannot be named, has been recovering in hospital since the deadly attack at the family home in Revesby, in Sydney's south-west, on July 6.

A St George Hospital spokeswoman said the woman was discharged yesterday.

The woman's 25-year-old daughter is accused of fatally stabbing her 53-year-old father and 15-year-old sister and injuring her mother, who raised the alarm when she collapsed on a neighbour's driveway. [...]

The Australian (July 14, 2007): "Religious mind games" by Elisabeth Wynhausen and Dan Box

Yes, Scientologists oppose psychiatry, but it's also the lack of access to mental health care that should be examined following killings, write Elisabeth Wynhausen and Dan Box

Andrew Galloway was mowing the grass in the back yard of his Revesby home in Sydney's west when he heard a woman screaming over the noise of his mower. Minutes later, as he stopped to empty the machine's grass catcher, he looked up and saw his neighbour collapsed in his driveway, blood running from multiple stab wounds to her body and deep gashes to her hands.

"Help me," the woman cried out. "Call triple 0."

Behind her in the house were the bodies of her husband and 15-year-old daughter. They had been stabbed to death. The woman's eldest daughter Anne (she and her family cannot be identified for legal reasons) has since been charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. At a preliminary hearing last Monday, her friends and members of her family were crowded against the walls of a courtroom in Bankstown, western Sidney.

In a statement tendered to the court, psychiatrist Mark Cross, who interviewed the 25-year-old after her arrest said she had been denied prescription medicines and hospital care for a psychiatric condition by her family because the treatment ran counter to their belief in Scientology. Although she was on the medication again in recent weeks, police documents before the court suggest Anne was still ill. [...]

The Australian (July 14, 2007): "Accused killer was denied treatment" by Elisabeth Wynhausen and Dan Box

THE Sydney woman accused of murdering her father and sister last week was discharged from a hospital psychiatric unit after a magistrate refused a request from medical staff that she receive further treatment.

The 25-year-old woman from the southwest suburb of Revesby was admitted to Bankstown Hospital for involuntary psychiatric treatment late last year.

The Australian can reveal that when the hospital sought an order to continue that treatment in the community, the visiting magistrate refused to grant this.

The reasons for the magistrate's decision did not have to be made public. It resulted in the woman being discharged from hospital without supervision from the mental health team. [...]

Daily Telegraph (July 12, 2007): "Secret Scientology letter war exposed" by Joe Hildebrand

SCIENTOLOGISTS have been bombarding NSW MPs with letters urging them not to make psychiatric drugs more available as part of an orchestrated campaign to stamp out their use.

But not one of more than 120 letters obtained by the Daily Telegraph identifies the author as a Scientologist despite many coming from its inner-west offices.

The move has raised serious concerns about religious groups or cults lobbying governments and politicians for a change in the law without identifying their links. [...]

The Australian (July 12, 2007): "Inside a mad-made religion" by Hedley Thomas

A double murder has raised questions about Scientology's approach to mental illness, writes Hedley Thomas

BY his own admission, Lafayette Ron Hubbard, whose impenetrably obscure writings about thetans would evolve over a half-century into the multi-billion-dollar celebrity-speckled commercial business known as the Church of Scientology, was mad.

"There is an interview I have where they ask Ron Hubbard, 'Are yea mad?', and he says: 'Yes, l am,'" says Raphael Aron, director of Australia's Cult Counselling Centre. "He saw his madness as a quality and as thinking outside the square."

In 1999, when Aron wrote Cults: Too Good To Be True, he was persuaded to delete what he regarded at the time as the best chapters: those that explored Scientology in Australia and its seeds 50 years ago in the US.

The risk of litigation was deemed to great. Even now Aron chooses his words carefully; the coffers of Scientology are deep, thanks to slick marketing and the remarkable dedication of members relentless in taking on critics.

After the group's teachings were exposed in court this week following a double-slaying in Sydney, cult watchers including Aron see a rare opportunity to conduct a public debate about Scientology's influence on mental health and safety. "The (Scientologists) are probably hoping this will all go away and I'm hoping it won't just go away this time," Aron says. "Governments should be looking closely at this, at least to see if (Scientologists) are breaching a duty of care and if they are complicit in a terrible double tragedy. It is a very significant matter that needs to be looked at laterally and level-headedly. It is just amazing that nothing like this has happened. [...]

The Australian (July 12, 2007): "Attractive help and a hasty exit" by Michael McKenna

It was Hollywood, so it was bound to follow the script. Two minutes after walking through the ornate gates of the world famous Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre, an exquisitely renovated 1920s chateau-style, former hotel overlooking Los Angeles, I came face-to-face with my first Scientologist. He was impressive, tall, broad-shouldered and impeccably groomed with a set of blindingly white teeth. He looked like an actor who'd play a secret service agent.

In that no-nonsense, disarmingly polite way of Americans in authority, he confronted me with a tap on the shoulder and asked: "Sir, can I help you today?"

I had been briefed by a defector from Scientology, a man who had been involved at various times in security and recruitment. My first contact, as part of an elaborate protocol for walk-in converts, would be an imposing suit whose job it was to size me up as a possible troublemaker while delivering an unspoken warning not to make trouble.

My answer had been rehearsed and deliberately weak (look vulnerable, my tutor had instructed): "Maybe, I don't know, I am in town and thought I would take a look."

It worked.

At the time I was a US correspondent for News Limited and James Packer had reportedly been lured in Scientology by Tom Cruise, its most famous advocate. [...]

The Daily Telegraph (July 11, 2007): "Scientology the cult of disbelief" by Michelle Cazzulino

ARTHUR and Lawana Beals knew their son Gary was in trouble. He had been tormented for years by voices in his head but he had always shunned their advice to seek psychiatric care.

On March 15, 1989, the 32-year-old broke. Grabbing a butcher knife, he stabbed Lawana before turning the knife on Arthur.

Bleeding from her injuries, Mrs Beals tried to defend her husband before fleeing the house and calling police. Arthur Beals was dead by the time authorities arrived.

Three years later, Beals, having pled "guilty but mentally ill" to manslaughter, appeared before a parole board hearing where he blamed his religious affiliation for his actions leading up to the murder.

Beals said he had been advised by the Church of Scientology against seeking therapy. According to him, the organisation's members talked him out of accessing psychological help while "bleeding dry" his bank accounts.

"If I wouldn't have got involved with Scientology, I wouldn't have committed this crime," he said.

After Beals' remarks were published by the Salt Lake Tribune, the response from the Church of Scientology was swift and scathing. [...]

The Daily Telegraph (July 11, 2007): "Church says science is fiction" by Michelle Cazzulino

THE Church of Scientology was labelled "flat-earthers" yesterday as it defended its controversial stance on mental health.

A psychiatric report tendered to Bankstown Local Court on Monday revealed a 25-year-old woman accused of killing her sister and father and seriously injuring her mother had been denied access to drugs because of her family's Scientology views.

Australian Church of Scientology vice-president Cyrus Brooks described the organisation's link to the killings as a "red herring".

"The woman was actually under the drugs, she was on drugs at the time of the incident. She was also under the care of a psychiatrist . . . since January," he told ABC radio.

"The records show she was on psychiatric drugs, so to say it had something to do with us, then I think it's incredibly defamatory and unfair."

Sydney University psychiatrist Chris Tennant phoned ABC talkback shortly after hearing Mr Brooks' claims, saying it was "so sad to hear the flat-earthers getting on the radio".

"It's a tragedy to hear this mumbo jumbo being proselytised by this group," he said. [...]

Sidney Morning Herald (July 11, 2007): "Scientologists blasted as flat-earthers" by Dylan Welch

SCIENTOLOGISTS were condemned yesterday as "flat-earthers", following statements in court that an alleged murderer was denied psychiatric treatment because of her family's Scientologist beliefs.

The vice-president of the Australian Church of Scientology, Cyrus Brooks, told ABC radio the Scientology link to the killings was "a bit of a red herring".

"The woman was actually under the drugs; she was on drugs at the time of the incident. She was also under the care of a psychiatrist … since January," Mr Brooks said.

"The records show that she was on psychiatric drugs, so to say that it had something to do with us, then I think it's incredibly defamatory and unfair."

A psychiatric report tendered to Bankstown Local Court on Monday said the 25-year-old woman accused of murdering her father and sister in Revesby last Thursday had tried to get help twice last year, but her Scientologist parents had a religious objection to psychiatric intervention. [...]

AAP (July 11, 2007): "Alleged family murderer too ill for court"

AN accused murderer allegedly denied medical treatment because of her parents' belief in Scientology was too ill to face a Sydney court today.

The 25-year-old woman, who cannot be named, is accused of killing her father and her 15-year-old sister and seriously injuring her mother during a stabbing attack at the family home in Revesby, in Sydney's south-west, on Thursday.

During an earlier court appearance, it was alleged the woman's parents refused to allow her follow-up treatment after she was diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006.

It was further alleged the 53-year-old father and 52-year-old mother did not want the woman to take prescribed medicine and started her on non-psychiatric drugs they got from America.

In Burwood Local Court today, legal aid lawyer Patricia Lyden said the woman was too ill to attend court.

She has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

The charges have been adjourned to the same court on September 24, when the woman will appear via audio-visual link.

The Australian (July 11, 2007): "Church's no-drug doctrine 'risky'" by Sarah Elks

SCIENTOLOGISTS were condemned yesterday as "flat-earthers", following statements in court that an alleged murderer was denied psychiatric treatment because of her family's Scientologist beliefs.

The vice-president of the Australian Church of Scientology, Cyrus Brooks, told ABC radio the Scientology link to the killings was "a bit of a red herring".

"The woman was actually under the drugs; she was on drugs at the time of the incident. She was also under the care of a psychiatrist … since January," Mr Brooks said.

"The records show that she was on psychiatric drugs, so to say that it had something to do with us, then I think it's incredibly defamatory and unfair."

A psychiatric report tendered to Bankstown Local Court on Monday said the 25-year-old woman accused of murdering her father and sister in Revesby last Thursday had tried to get help twice last year, but her Scientologist parents had a religious objection to psychiatric intervention. [...]

Seven Network (July 10, 2007): "Today Tonight: A Scientology double-murder"

The Sidney Morning Herald (July 10, 2007): "Scientology cited in killings" by David Braithwaite


[Image source: front page of Sydney Morning Herald]
THE young woman needed psychiatric care, and she knew it. She tried to get help twice, but her Scientologist parents had a religious objection to psychiatric intervention.

They denied her the treatment she wanted, then dosed the 25-year-old with their own medicine, specially imported from the US. Finally, as her mental health worsened three weeks ago, they crumbled and let her take anti-psychotic drugs she had been prescribed.

But it was too late. The unfolding tragedy came to its bloody head at Revesby last Thursday. After an argument with her mother, the young woman was found that afternoon confused and wandering the street with a knife. Inside the family home her father and teenage sister lay dead. On the driveway outside, her mother moaned for help as she bled from stab wounds.

That night in hospital, with her wrists in bandages, the young woman screamed: "I just want a knife. I want more killing. More, I need more. I'm wanting more killing."

This account of the woman's mental disintegration was revealed in court documents in Bankstown Local Court yesterday.

The clearly bewildered woman faced two counts of murder and one charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent to murder. Police allege she used a knife to murder her 53-year-old father and critically injure her 52-year-old mother, before she chased and killed her 15-year-old sister. The woman had sought psychiatric help at a hospital late last year, but follow-up treatment was denied by her parents, apparently because they were Scientologists, a mental health report tendered to the court said. [...]

The Daily Telegraph (July 10, 2007): "Scientology link to family killing" by Evelyn Yamine

Alternative headline: "Parents 'refused medication to double stabbing accused'"

A WOMAN charged with murdering her father and sister was allegedly forced to stop taking psychiatric drugs by her family because of their Church of Scientology beliefs.

Bankstown Local Court heard yesterday the woman's parents asked her to stop taking the drugs and denied her access to mental health treatment because it went against the controversial church's anti-drugs stance.

The woman, 25, faced court yesterday charged with the stabbing murders of her father, 53, and sister, 15, in their Revesby home last Thursday.

She is also charged with a stabbing attack on her mother, 52.

The court heard the woman's parents were both Scientologists and opposed to psychiatric treatment. [...]

The Daily Telegraph (July 10, 2007): "Sect to reject role in deaths" by Fiona Connolly

THE Church of Scientology last night denied the Sydney man who was allegedly stabbed to death by his psychotic daughter after refusing her psychiatric drugs was a top recruiter for the church.

A man with the same name as the dead father is listed on the Church of Scientology's "Honor Roll" in the 2002 Impact magazine which glorifies members worldwide for their efforts in "signing more than 20 members to the church" or for donating $US20,000 or more.

The man's daughter, 25, faced Bankstown Local Court yesterday charged with fatally stabbing her father and sister at their Revesby home last Thursday. She is also charged with stabbing her mother, 52.

The girl's parents refused her psychiatric treatment because of their Scientology beliefs, the court heard.

The man is also named on a website, stop-wise.biz, set up by a former Scientologist [see note below] as a warning to would-be church recruits that the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, known as WISE, is a recruitment vehicle for Scientology. [...]

Note: stop-wise.biz was set up by Mike Gormez. Mike Gormez has never been a Scientologist.[ref]

The Australian (July 10, 2007): "Accused killer was 'denied therapy'" by James Madden


p. 3
A SYDNEY woman accused of the stabbing murders of her father and sister was allegedly denied psychiatric treatment last year because of her parents' Scientology beliefs.

The 25-year-old woman, who cannot be named, appeared briefly in Sydney's Bankstown Local Court yesterday, charged over the murders at her family home in Revesby in the city's southwest last Thursday.

The woman has also been charged with committing grievous bodily harm on her 52-year-old mother, who ran to a neighbour's house and raised the alarm after she was allegedly stabbed by her daughter.

A psychiatric report tendered to the court yesterday said the woman was diagnosed with a psychotic illness after being admitted to hospital last year but her parents had refused her appropriate follow-up treatment.

"She had a history of being diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 at Bankstown Hospital, but follow-up from the mental health team was apparently declined by her parents because of their alleged Scientology beliefs," senior psychiatrist Mark Cross told the court. [...]

National Nine News (July 9, 2007): "Mental health drugs 'like lobotomies'"

The controversial Church of Scientology likens modern mental health drugs to torture and lobotomies.

The church's opposition to psychiatric drugs became central to a brutal murder case in Sydney on Monday when it was alleged in court that a 25-year-old woman charged with stabbing her father and sister to death and seriously injuring her mother was denied mental health treatment because of her parents' belief in scientology.

Bankstown Local Court was told the woman had been diagnosed with a psychotic illness in 2006 but her parents allegedly denied her access to the appropriate treatment.

The church, which includes Hollywood actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its high-profile followers, says psychiatry undermines religion by treating the human soul as physical. [...]

Herald Sun (July 9, 2007): "Stabbing accused 'denied help'" by Katherine Danks

A SYDNEY woman accused of fatally stabbing her father, sister and injuring her mother was denied psychiatric treatment by her parents who were Scientologists, a court was told today.

The 24-year-old woman, who cannot be named, was diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 and recommended follow-up treatment at Bankstown Hospital, in Sydney's southwest.

Dr Mark Cross, the consultant psychiatrist and clinical director of Liverpool and Fairfield Mental Health Services, said the woman's parents refused this treatment.

"She had a history of being diagnosed with a psychotic illness in late 2006 at Bankstown Hospital, but follow-up from the mental health team was apparently declined by her parents because of their alleged Scientology beliefs," Dr Cross said. [...]

The Sidney Morning Herald (July 9, 2007): "I just butchered my family" by David Braithwaite

The parents of a woman accused of murdering her father and sister apparently declined psychiatric treatment for her last year because of their Scientology beliefs, a report tendered in court states. [...]

Dr Cross stated that the woman was diagnosed with a psychiatric illness late last year but follow-up from the mental health team at Bankstown Hospital was apparently declined by her parents due to their alleged Scientology beliefs. [...]

The West Australian (July 9, 2007): "Woman charged with double murder"

A young woman charged with the stabbing deaths of her father and teenage sister will face court on Monday in Sydney's south-west.

The 25-year-old had been under police guard at Liverpool Hospital since the incident in Revesby Heights on Thursday.

Police were called to Hydrae Street after reports of an altercation, finding the bodies of a 53-year-old man and 15-year-old girl inside a home. [...]

NSW Police Force (July 9, 2007): "Woman in court today over double fatal stabbing - Revesby"

A woman has been charged with two counts of murder and is in court today over the stabbing deaths of a man and teenage girl at Revesby, in Sydney’s south-west.

The 25-year-old woman had been under police guard at Liverpool Hospital since the incident, which occurred at 3.50pm last Thursday (5 July).

Bankstown Highway Patrol arrested the woman in Uranus Street about 4pm on Thursday and she was taken to hospital where she underwent surgery on Friday morning for injuries to her hands.

She was released from hospital at 3.50pm yesterday and taken to Liverpool Police Station where she was charged with two counts of murder and one count of inflict grievous bodily harm with intent to murder.

The woman was refused bail and is due to appear in Bankstown Local Court today.

Police were called to Hydrae Street on Thursday afternoon after reports of an altercation. Officers discovered the bodies of a 53-year-old man and 15-year-old girl inside a home.

Post mortems concluded yesterday and the bodies were formally identified by family members. The family have not authorised their names for release.

A 52-year-old woman, who was found at a neighbouring house, remains in a serious but stable condition in intensive care after undergoing surgery on Thursday night for multiple stab wounds.

Strike Force Bungowin was set up to investigate the incident and comprises detectives from the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad.

Sidney Morning Herald (July 8, 2007): "'Dead girl hoped to have a big family" by Angela Cuming

STABBING victim Kathryn Walicki, 15, loved her sister Linda "with all her heart", a family friend said yesterday.

A touching tribute to Kathryn, who was killed along with the girl's father Michael, 52, at their Revesby home on Wednesday, described her as a "beautiful and gorgeous girl" who loved her family above all else. [...]

Sidney Morning Herald (July 7, 2007): "'It's not her fault, she's sick': mother's cry after family tragedy" by Jordan Baker

IT WAS a picture of suburban harmony on a sunny afternoon: two neighbours, a man and a woman, both mowing their front lawn in a leafy part of Revesby.

But in a horrible few minutes, order turned to chaos, leaving two members of a family dead, one seriously injured and another under arrest.

As he mowed on Thursday, Andrew Galloway heard trouble next door. Soon his neighbour, Sue Walicki, staggered into his yard with stab wounds to her stomach and back, crying for help.

From her back garden there was screaming, as if someone was being chased, Then one of the woman's daughters, Linda, appeared in the front yard, carrying a knife.

He told her he would cull police, and she 25-year-old ran off. In an interview with Channel 10, he described Linda's bleeding mother telling him: "It's not her fault, she is sick." [...]

Sidney Morning Herald (July 6, 2007): "'Daughter held after two stabbing deaths" by Jordan Baker and David Braithwaite

A woman walked to her neighbour's house in a quiet area of Revesby yesterday afternoon covered in blood and believed to have been stabbed in the chest.

The woman had fled a crime scene and was asking her neighbours to call police.

Officers arrived at an address on Hydrae Street soon after, about 4pm, and found an unspeakable scene. The woman's husband and teenage daughter had been stabbed to death. Another of the woman's daughters was wandering nearby streets, covered in blood.

The daughter, in her mid-20s, was arrested by police in Uranus Street and taken to hospital where she remains under police guard. She has minor injuries and is helping police with their inquiries. [...]

 

Related matters

The Sidney Morning Herald poll

July 11th 2007:
On July 11, 2007, the Sidney Morning Herald ("SMH") ran a poll on its web site, titled "Who's at fault: is criticism of Scientology fair?", asking people if it was fair to link Scientology to the tragedy. SMH correctly discloses that its poll is non-scientific (mainly because the sampling is not random).

This is a graph of how the poll results changed over time, from 8h11 EDT, to 12h42 EDT + 1 day.

  Yes No
08h11 EDT 68% 32%
12h42 EDT + 1 day 37% 63%

This reversal is strange, especially considering the fact that more than 1,500 people had voted already before the reversal took place. This means that between 8h11 EDT and 23h36 EDT, 88% voted "No". Many people have written the SMH to inquire about this suspicious reversal in the poll results. Maybe we will hear more about this.

At this point, the reader might want to take a look at this news item: Are Scientologists behind attempt to rig poll for Tom Cruise?

Note that an opinion poll based on a sample of individuals randomly selected is very unlikely to result in the above graph. For a well conducted opinion poll based on a sample of individuals randomly selected, the larger the sample, the narrower the error margin. This means as more randomly selected individuals answer, the variation in the results tend to disappear  — the lines become flat.

With a sample as small as 1067 randomly selected individuals, you can obtain a reliable guess of what 6 billions people think on a particular issue, with a confidence interval of just ±3%.[ref] Increasing the sample significantly doesn't reduce the margin of error significantly.

Now contrast that with the current SMH poll: at 8h11 EDT, there was already more than 1,500 people who answered the poll. If the poll was answered by randomly selected individuals, the results would have varied little through the next hours — that means the lines would have been close to flat at this point. However it varied significantly as can be seen. This indicates that the poll results are skewed, because the sample of individuals answering the poll lost its key 'random' characteristic.

One could argue that the poll was already skewed against Scientology at 8h11 EDT. But since there are precedents where Scientology-related matter were found to be rigged (polls, book sales, movie tickets, etc.), it is reasonable to assert that the current SMH poll became skewed in favor of Scientology.

Update, July 12th 2007, 9h40 EDT:

Excerpt: "We discovered that Virginia Steward had apparently sent out an email urging Church members to vote in the online poll, and it appears to have worked."ot;

As explained above, this essentially means that the poll is not based on a sample of randomly selected individuals, and is in fact heavily skewed in favor of Scientology.