Jessica Camilleri, who carried out a horrifying act of matricide by stabbing her mother over 100 times and subsequently parading her severed head in public, has seen a reduction in her prison sentence.
The prison sentence of a Sydney woman who brutally decapitated her mother following a frenzied and uncontrolled assault has been lessened. Jessica Camilleri, who was initially charged with murder, was convicted of manslaughter in 2020 by a jury. The jury determined that her actions were a result of substantial impairment, leading to the tragic death of her mother, Rita, in their residence in St Clair in 2019.
In December 2021, Jessica Camilleri received a prison sentence of 21 years and seven months, including a non-parole period of 16 years and two months. However, she appealed the sentence on three grounds.
She argued that the judge had not properly assessed the severity of the crime, failed to appropriately discount the sentence considering her acceptance of responsibility and cooperation, and claimed that the sentence was excessively harsh.
On Wednesday, two out of three judges in the Court of Criminal Appeal granted her appeal and reduced the sentence. Camilleri has been resentenced to a term of 16 years and six months, with a non-parole period of 12 years. It is important to note that Camilleri has complex mental health conditions and had an obsession with graphic horror films, which were considered in the appeal process.
In his judgment, Justice Peter Hamill acknowledged the objective nature of the facts surrounding the case, describing them as gruesome, brutal, and involving a frenzied attack on an innocent victim within her own home.
The mutilation of the victim’s body added an additional level of horror to this already horrendous homicide, as noted by Justice Peter Hamill. However, he also considered the spontaneous nature of the offense, emphasizing that it resulted from the applicant’s loss of control due to her complex psychiatric illness. Furthermore, he highlighted that Camilleri’s behavior at the time demonstrated a detachment from reality.
Justice Hamill found that Camilleri’s limited understanding of moral wrongfulness was influenced by her intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder, which contributed to her loss of self-control during the commission of the crime.
It was revealed that Camilleri had ceased taking her prescribed mood stabilizing and anti-psychotic medications in the months leading up to the incident. As the day progressed, her mental condition deteriorated, leading to increased agitation. Concerned about her daughter’s behavior, Rita considered taking her to the hospital on the evening of July 20.
The harrowing events unfolded as Camilleri attempted to call an ambulance but intercepted her mother, resulting in a struggle over the phone. Rita’s attempt to retrieve another phone led to another altercation.
Subsequently, Camilleri knocked her mother to the ground, forcibly dragged her by the hair into the kitchen, and restrained her. With a series of seven kitchen knives, Camilleri proceeded to stab her mother multiple times, eventually leading to her decapitation.
An autopsy revealed that Rita endured a minimum of 100 stab wounds to her face and head. Afterward, Camilleri carried her mother’s severed head onto the street. According to testimonies, she dropped it on the footpath, picked it up, continued walking down the street, and dropped it again.
She then approached a neighbor’s residence and requested emergency services to be contacted. With the resentencing, Camilleri will be eligible for parole in 2031.
