Alex Leonard Ophel, now 26, has twice been found not guilty by mental impairment over two separate attacks at the ANU. Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.
A former student who twice attacked people at the Australian National University (ANU) could be detained for the rest of his life after a judge found he is likely to remain a danger to the community.
While Alex Leonard Ophel was found not guilty by mental impairment over both incidents, on Thursday (18 December), ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum gave the Territory’s tribunal the power to refuse to release him from custody indefinitely.
This means the decision of when he can be released from detention will be made by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT).
Ophel attacked five people at the uni with a baseball bat in August 2017, but an ACT Supreme Court jury found him not guilty by mental impairment and ACAT placed him on a conditional release order.
As part of this order, he was allowed to take unsupervised leave from the mental health facility where he was detained if he had the permission of a psychiatrist.
He was granted half an hour of leave to go on a bush walk on 18 September 2023, but instead went to his parent’s home and grabbed a knife before going to the ANU.
He approached two women from behind as they sat on the lawns and stabbed the first woman three times and the second twice.
The first would have died without treatment, while the second may have died.
“In short, their lives have been shattered,” Chief Justice McCallum said.
Ophel also hit one man with a frying pan and punched another man in the face.
Earlier this week, his own barrister admitted he “never should have been allowed out” that day.
Court documents show he claimed “higher beings” had begun communicating with him again by putting thoughts inside his head around three days before the second incident.
He told a psychiatrist he thought of committing the attack “probably the day beforehand”.
ACT Policing officers were called to the scene at the ANU on 18 September 2023. Photo: Joanne Griffiths.
While Ophel said his original plan involved a frying pan, the idea of using a knife occurred to him while he was at his parents’ house.
“I was intending to kill these people,” he told a psychiatrist.
Another psychiatrist asked about the attack and the “higher beings”.
“They told me that it was the right thing to do – they were putting thoughts in my head,” he replied.
The court heard Ophel suffers from chronic and severe treatment-resistant schizophrenia and three different psychiatrists agreed he did not know his conduct was wrong at the time.
On Thursday, Chief Justice McCallum ultimately found the now 26-year-old not guilty of attempted murder by way of mental impairment over the second incident. Prosecutors agreed to this decision.
Because of this special verdict, she also had to give a nominated sentence. This is what he would have been sentenced to if he hadn’t been found not guilty by mental impairment.
She said the judge from the first attack gave Ophel a nominated sentence of 10 years, which was due to end in 2029. But she gave him a nominated sentence of life imprisonment, which is the maximum penalty for the charge.
The chief justice said protection of the community needed to be given very significant weight in the matter.
She said Ophel was able to conceal his symptoms from experienced mental heath professionals, which he may do to retain his privileges like unsupervised leave.
Also, he is on the most effective medication for schizophrenia, but metabolises this too quickly.
Chief Justice McCallum said Ophel had been a good student and keen sportsman before he was diagnosed with schizophrenia after the 2017 attack.
She said when was in the grips of his mental health illness, he was not the child his parents had raised and the case was tragic for all families involved.
Ophel sat in the courtroom’s dock, while the two women he stabbed watched from the gallery.
The decision does not mean he will be detained for the rest of his life, but will allow ACAT to continue to refuse to release him indefinitely.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact:
Lifeline’s 24-hour crisis support line – 13 11 14
Suicide Call Back Service – 1300 659 467
Kids Helpline – 1800 551 800 or kidshelpline.com.au
MensLine Australia – 1300 789 978 or mensline.org.au
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