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Woman kills Scientologist dad
09/07/2007 16:18 - (SA)
Sydney - An Australian woman accused of murdering her father and sister was apparently denied psychiatric treatment because of her parents' Scientology beliefs, a court heard on Monday.
The 25-year-old woman, who cannot be named, appeared briefly in court on Monday to be charged over the stabbing attacks at her family home in a Sydney suburb, the Australian Associated Press reported.
She made no application for bail because she was unfit to be interviewed, her lawyer Wade Bloomfield told the court.
Consultant psychiatrist Mark Cross said in a report that the woman was diagnosed with a psychotic illness at Bankstown Hospital in late 2006, the court heard.
"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," Cross said.
The woman is accused of fatally stabbing her 53-year-old father and 15-year-old sister and wounding her 52-year-old mother, who raised the alarm as she collapsed in a neighbour's garden.
The mother remains in a serious but stable condition after undergoing surgery for multiple stab wounds.
The woman was arrested in a nearby street shortly after the attack and was placed under police guard in hospital until she was charged.
The controversial Church of Scientology, which includes actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its celebrity members, is against psychiatry and opposes the use of psychiatric drugs.
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