A student has been found guilty of killing his girlfriend while in the grips of a psychotic episode.
Jordan Brodie Miller, 22, strangled his 18-year-old partner Emerald Wardle to death at the home of his parents in Maitland, near Sydney in Australia.
While in a delusional state, Miller became convinced that his girlfriend was a demon and trying to suck the life from him before he killed her in June 2020, reports Daily Mail.
The jury at his trial agreed with prosecutors who argued his psychosis was borne out of his chronic drug abuse and the fact he'd taken a huge dose of LSD 11 days before he killed his partner.
His defence had maintained that Miller was predisposed to a psychotic illness at the time of the tragedy.
Members of the public gallery gasped in shock after the jurors delivered a guilty verdict following five days of deliberations, according to the Daily Telegraph.
Following the three-week trial they decided Miller was not eligible for a "special verdict" which would have found him guilty but not criminally responsible due to the psychotic illness.
The defence had also argued he didn't intend to kill his girlfriend but "another [inhuman] creature" - but this was also rejected.
Instead they decided the violence brought on by the mental health condition was solely the result of drug use.
Miller's lawyers argued he may be suffering from schizophrenia but Professor David Greenberg gave evidence suggesting Miller's condition instead met the criteria of a drug-inducted psychosis.
However, another psychiatrists Professor Olav Nielssen said he would "put money on" Miller suffering from schizophrenia which was made worse by his drug use.
Ms Wardle's mother Tania Simshauser took the stand during the trial and described the affection her daughter had had for Miller, who she had descirbed as a "big, shy genius".
Miller's friends and family who also took the stand described him as a "gentle giant" but several said they had noticed certain behavioural changes in him.
According to witnesses he had become more argumentative, had spoken of being more intelligent and of losing his "ego" since his acid "trip" on June 11.
He got in contact with a counselling service through his job at a Caltex service station and later told authorities he believed he was getting messages about demons.
Appearing in court via video-link the day after his arrest, Miller repeatedly told the court he was a "murderer" despite his lawyer's pleas for him to remain silent.
He said: "I wrapped my hands around Emerald Wardle's throat".
The 22-year-old, who had no prior domestic violence convictions, had also told authorities he had been aware that he was strangling Ms Wardle.
Miller was remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date.
