A senior citizen fatally stabbed his sleeping wife, washed the knife and drove himself to a Sydney police station.
But Merrylands man Vincenzo Coluccio will not face trial over Elia Coluccio's homicide after a judge examined multiple expert medical reports and declared the 74-year-old mentally unfit to face trial for murder.
"Undoubtedly, this is a sad case," NSW Supreme Court Justice Robert Allan Hulme said on Monday as he outlined the difficulty Coluccio would have following any trial.
The father-of-three has been in custody since the night of his 63-year-old wife's death on February 4, 2019.
After plunging the kitchen knife into Ms Coluccio's chest as she slept on the lounge, the elderly man washed the weapon and his hands and drove to Merrylands police station.
One psychologist concluded Coluccio had a substantial mental impairment and mild intellectual disability, while another said Coluccio was confused about whether his wife of 47 years was alive or dead.
In an interview with a forensic psychiatrist, the man claimed his wife had been cheating on him and that his children were mocking him.
At times, he appeared tearful and remorseful, but he also claimed his wife was "setting him up".
He also claimed that his brother was God and said he could hear his brother's voice.
The psychiatrist diagnosed Coluccio with schizoaffective disorder but found it unlikely he was suffering a mental disability.
Evidence that Coluccio was unfit to stand trial was compelling, Justice Hulme said.
"Although he understands the nature of the charges and can give a clinical account of what happened, it seems he experiences delusions and remains confused as to whether the deceased is actually dead," the judge said.
"I am not satisfied that Mr Coluccio is capable of following the trial, understanding the evidence or instructing his lawyers.
"I am also not satisfied that he can comprehend the defences open to him."
Coluccio, who listened to Monday's judgment through an interpreter, did not say anything.
He was remanded in custody until a further order by the Mental Health Review Tribunal.
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Australian Associated Press