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West Australian man Robert Dent was 47 years old when he bludgeoned both his parents to death with a mallet as they slept.
The tragedy came 30 years after the Capel man first began displaying psychotic symptoms, but his schizophrenia was misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue and never appropriately treated.
His parents, Colin, 75, and Bernie Dent, 74, became his full-time carers as his symptoms worsened into adulthood, with nothing – neither western nor alternative medicine – seeming to help.
He became a recluse, spending most of his time sleeping or in his bedroom.
On September 24, 2021, he called 000 after attempting to kill himself by cutting his penis off.
During the call, the operator asked if he felt violent, with Dent replying he felt tired. Asked for how long he had been feeling that way, he replied, “since 1991”, referring to when he was diagnosed with chronic fatigue as a teenager.
He then casually revealed he had killed both his parents three days earlier after hearing voices in his head.
“They said I had to kill people or my mum and dad, but I love my mum and dad a lot,” he said.
“I’ve covered them up with doonas and tried to make everything smell nice. They’re still in their beds because they are both dead. Sorry about that.”
At the time of the killings, Dent hadn’t left the house for nearly a decade, and had developed sensitivities to light and smells that led to him spend most of his time alone.
His parents had tried everything to accommodate him, including avoiding chemicals by only purchasing organic food, and not wearing deodorants, and keeping the house in relative darkness.
Dent recalled both woke up as he was attacking them, with his mother asking what he was doing before telling him she needed to go to the hospital.
Bernie and Colin Dent were killed while sleeping inside their Capel home.
He appeared unemotional and slightly confused when he told attending police why he had killed his parents.
“Because I heard something called radionics machines telling me to do all these strange things, I don’t know what radionics machines are,” he said.
Dent later explained he believed some of his extended family were part of a satanic cult and that his brain was being controlled by a machine that was telling him to kill his parents.
When police entered his house, they found both his parents tucked into their beds. Dent had written satanic wording and symbols all over the walls of the house, and drawn religious symbols all over his body.
He was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.
On Monday, he was found not guilty by Justice Amanda Forrester due to unsoundness of mind following a judge-alone trial held in June.
“He was, in effect, experiencing an alternative reality,” she said.
“In that reality, he could not reason about his actions with a moderate degree of sense and composure and was unable to reason rationally as to what was right or wrong according to ordinary standards.”
During the trial, medical experts gave evidence Dent suffered from previously undiagnosed schizoaffective disorder, a chronic psychotic disorder with features of schizophrenia and mood disorder.
In the months before the killings, he started experiencing auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions.
He was placed on an indefinite custody order.
If you or someone you know needs support call Lifeline 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636.
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