A wheelchair user who walked around naked for more than an hour before stabbing a woman to death has been found guilty of murder.
Mark Ludbrook, 53, admitted he killed his friend Autumn Baker at his Hoppers Crossing home in Melbourne's southwest on August 3, 2023.
But he denied he was guilty of murder, claiming his mind was altered by the illicit drug PCE and he had no control of his actions.
The Victorian Supreme Court jury was told Ludbrook took the drug on the morning of August 3 to manage chronic pain from his diagnosed transverse myelitis.
His carer Amber Davison described his strange behaviour before the murder, where he was seen walking around naked despite normally only managing three steps at a time.
Ludbrook also thanked different colours and told his carer how he needed to sleep with her to save the animals, Ms Davison told the jury.
Ludbrook's barrister Emily Clark said her client's behaviour showed he was in an altered state of mind so he could not have consciously, deliberately or voluntarily carried out the killing.
Crown prosecutor Jim Shaw argued while Ludbrook was clearly drug-affected, he was still conscious of his actions.
Ludbrook first faced a murder trial in September but the jury was discharged after being unable to reach a verdict.
A second jury on Thursday found him guilty of murder after close to four days of deliberations.
Justice James Gorton thanked the jurors for the committed and thoughtful way they had approached their task.
After they left the courtroom, Ludbrook, who has been on bail, was remanded into custody.
Ms Clark requested some time to determine what reports she would need to obtain for Ludbrook ahead of his pre-sentence hearing.
Instead of fixing a pre-sentence date, Justice Gorton adjourned the case to a mention in March.
