Mental patient tried to dispose of body

Press, 7 May 1987, Page 4

Mental patient tried to dispose of body

PA Auckland Lawrence Beattie Jerry was a committed mental patient on leave when he tried to dispose of the body of the Whangaparaoa shroud murder victim, Mr Graeme Lewis, a Court was told. Jerry had taken part in other "violent activities” and should be jailed for public safety, Mr Justice Thorp said in the High Court at Auckland. Jerry, aged 28, a sickness beneficiary, of Whangaparaoa, was jailed for four years for being an accessory after the fact of the murder of Mr Lewis, aged 27, last year. Jerry denied the charge but was found guilty by a jury after a High Court trial.

Mr Lewis’s body, with multiple stab wounds, was found wrapped in a shroud at a Whangaparaoa house on May 31, 1986. Jerry’s brother, Colin Jerry, aged 24, and Stephen Clifford Curtis, aged 33, are serving life terms for the murder. A psychiatrist, Dr Roger Culpan, told the Judge that Lawrence Jerry had been under psychiatric care for 13 or 14 years and had been committed more than once. He needed regular injections to control his behaviour. He should be put in hospital for treatment then released under supervision, the doctor suggested. He told Jerry’s counsel, Mr Barry Hart, that Jerry

would have known what he was doing but could not assess morality or the consequences of his actions. He denied a suggestion that Jerry may have been faking mental illness. It was hard to simulate psychiatric problems unless the patient was intelligent and a good actor, Mr Culpan told the prosecutor, Mr Roy Ladd. The Judge told Jerry that evidence showed he took a full and active part in trying to get rid of the body and bum incriminating evidence. He ordered that Jerry’s psychiatric reports and sentencing notes be passed on to the prison authorities.