Melbourne man given 25-year custodial order after being found not guilty of murder due to mental impairment
A Melbourne man who was found not guilty of murder after he bashed a mother to death in her home has been ordered to spend decades in a psychiatric hospital.
Xochil O'Neill was ordered to undertake a 25-year custodial supervision order when he fronted the Supreme Court of Victoria today.
O'Neill will complete the order at high-security forensic mental health hospital Thomas Embling in Fairfield, where he has been held since he was found not guilty of murder due to mental impairment in May.
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Xochil O'Neill (right) found not guilty of the murder of his neighbour Maud Steenbeek (left) due to mental impairment. Supplied
His neighbour, Maud Steenbeek, 61, was found dead in her Heidelberg West home on Liberty Parade in January last year.
O'Neill was experiencing a psychotic episode when he broke into Ms Steenbeek's home and bashed her to death with a wooden paddle.
The mother-of-two was on a Skype call to her brother in the Netherlands at the time.
Court documents revealed Ms Steenbeek could be heard telling O'Neill to "get out" in the moments before her death.
Her son later came home to find her dead on the floor.
Ms Steenbeek was undergoing cancer treatment at the time of her death.
The yoga teacher has been remembered as a "caring and wise" person, who was passionate about women's rights.
O'Neill's sentence includes the 658 days he has already spent in custody since he was arrested.
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