Basil Thomas Anderson was sentenced at the High Court in New Plymouth for the manslaughter of his father. Photo: NZME/Tara Shaskey
A South Taranaki man who killed his father while suffering a methamphetamine-induced delusion that the older man was a "demon" has been jailed for six years for his manslaughter.
Basil Thomas Anderson, 36, appeared at the High Court in New Plymouth for sentencing over the death of his father, Basil Thomas Anderson Senior, 60, in August 2024.
Originally charged with murder, Anderson plead guilty to manslaughter earlier this year.
During sentencing Justice Paul Radich acknowledged the two men had been "best of mates" who had lived together and worked alongside one another for many years.
He explained on the day before the fatal attack in Patea the younger man had called emergency services and told them he was "being hypnotised and had been under mind control" since he was 15 years old and "just woken up to it".
After a second call, emergency services were able to talk to Basil Thomas Anderson Senior who told them his son was confused and sleep deprived.
Police called at the men's property later that day, but found the younger man in a clam state.
Anderson told police he had recently started using methamphetamine to improve his gym performance and woken up "confused and hallucinating" and had accused his father of hypnotising him, but that he had "snapped out of it".
His father told police his son had also been using cannabis.
The police officers advised the men to seek medical advice and left the property after seeking assurances from Basil Thomas Anderson Senior that he felt safe there.
The following day, at about 8.45am, Anderson's sister called emergency services saying her brother was trying to stab her father.
Shortly before 9am, Anderson called emergency services himself and told them he "had woken up from a daydream" under what he described as "MK Ultra mind control" and he needed police help.
He told the operator he had stabbed his father, but that he was still alive.
The operator told Anderson to stem the blood flow, but shortly afterwards he said he believed his father was dead. He was reluctant to perform CPR when instructed to.
He told the emergency services call taker he was "glad to have done what he did" and started yelling.
When police arrived, Anderson was compliant and arrested. His father was declared dead at the scene.
The younger man admitted to police he had stabbed his father because he had been "mind controlling" him and his sisters. Asked where he had stabbed his father, he said he had stabbed him in the head with a butcher's knife "and should've taken his head off".
Anderson had inflicted 31 injuries on his father, including four stab wounds, one of which had severed his abdominal aorta causing him to bleed to death.
Justice Radich acknowledged his guilty plea to the manslaughter charge.
He said it reflected Anderson did not have murderous intent when he killed his father because of his mental state at the time of the offending.
Psychological reports described the accused as "in a delusional state induced by methamphetamine and cannabis".
"While in that delusional state, you believed that your father had hypnotized and mind controlled you, that he was a demon, that he might have killed other people and that he might kill you and your sisters," Justice Radich said.
"A delusional, psychotic state explains why you did what you did when you had no other apparent motivations for your actions."
It also explained why Anderson called police after attacking his father.
"You said that you called the police for help because you thought, while in that delusional state, that you were the victim."
Justice Radich explained while Anderson had a history of being a cannabis user, he had only started using methamphetamine regularly in the months leading up to the attack on his father.
He had used cannabis on the night before the attack and methamphetamine a couple of days earlier. A police toxicology report after the attack found he was clear of methamphetamine.
Justice Radich noted Anderson's delusions were the result of the choice to consume methamphetamine and cannabis and could be caused by drug intoxication or withdrawal.
His sentence starting point was nine years six months.
Justice Radich said while Anderson's drug use explained his offending, voluntary drug use could not be considered when assessing an offender's culpability, but accepted he had long-standing substance abuse disorder due to his cannabis use and gave a five percent discount for this.
He also got a 25 percent discount for his early guilty plea to the manslaughter charge and a further 14 percent for his willingness to take part in a restorative justice programme and his genuine remorse.
Justice Radich sentenced Anderson's to six years jail and his interim name suppression lapsed.
He will be able to apply for parole after serving a third of his sentence.
Crown prosecutor Holly Bullock had argued for a 10 year sentence starting point and wanted a four year non-parole period.
She said aggravating factors included the extreme violence, use of a weapon, number of injuries and fact the attack took place in the victim's home.
Council for the defence Nathan Bourke emphasised the drug use and its impact on Anderson's mental state.
"Fundamentally, the submission is Mr Anderson's drug use and mental health is the cause of this offending, but for it it wouldn't have happened."
Bourke said his client's remorse was indescribable.
"He hopes that his family [who were in court] can find some forgiveness towards him, although he does not expect it soon. Essentially, that reflects a man who has woken up from the worst nightmare you can imagine and is now confronting his deeds and his accepted responsibility at an early stage.
"This wasn't a rational decision made by Mr Anderson ... this was not offending committed in anger or [due to] a perceived slight. This was something that he did when he was out of his mind, and he's not now. He's not using drugs, and he won't be for years, and he won't be ever because he's seen what it's done."
Bourke said if there was ever a lesson about the damage and risk of using methamphetamine this case was it.
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