R v Graham [2026] NSWSC 1017

R v Graham [2026] NSWSC 1017 concerns Jo-Ann Graham’s killing of her friend Diedre Anne Folpp by repeated stabbing in October 2023. In a hearing under s 31 of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW), the central issue was whether Graham’s acute psychosis meant she was not criminally responsible, despite possible contributions from substance use. Lonergan J found that she had schizophrenia with substance use disorder, that her impairment was not caused solely by drugs or intoxication, and that she could not reason about the act’s wrongfulness. The Court entered a special verdict of “act proven but not criminally responsible” and ordered her detention.