The 37-year-old man accused of the decapitation murder of his mother at their NSW Northern Tablelands property last weekend has made a bizarre court appearance.
Described by a judge as ‘horrific’, the alleged murder of Michele Denton by her son, Phillip John Denton, took place in a sparsely populated area northwest of Tamworth.
Wrapped in a grey blanket with his chest bare underneath, Denton briefly sat down inside a police station video booth on Monday before standing, turning his back to the camera and saying he would ‘no comply’.
Denton, who lived with his mother, Michele Denton, 70, was arrested at home after police made a grisly discovery on Saturday night.
At about 9.35pm on Saturday, police attended the 60ha Ironbark Drive farm at Mole River, northeast of Tenterfield, and found a house that was partly burned and still ablaze, along with the beheaded body of Ms Denton inside.
The death of the much-loved alpaca breeder and longtime resident has stunned locals, who told the Daily Mail: ‘This has rocked our little valley’.
Ms Denton, who had lived at Mole River for 15 years, was a ‘fit and healthy’ woman who, apart from breeding alpacas and harvesting their wool for spinning and weaving, enjoyed a quiet life and occasionally travelled to Tenterfield for shopping.
One neighbour said the community of about 100 properties ‘looked out for one another’ but generally went about their daily business and tended ‘to keep to ourselves’.
Finding the house still ablaze, police entered the dwelling and discovered Michele Denton’s decapitated body inside
Police were called to the address in Mole River northeast of Tenterfield about 9.35pm on Saturday and made a grisly discovery inside the farm house
Police were called to the address on Saturday after Denton allegedly entered a nearby property, attempted to steal a vehicle and assaulted the 74-year-old male homeowner.
The homeowner was a neighbour who was friendly with both Ms Denton and her son.
After speaking with the neighbour and discovering Ms Denton’s body, police arrested her son and took him to Tenterfield Police Station, where he was charged with murder and refused bail.
On Monday, he appeared before Judge Miranda Moody via AVL from Armidale Police Station after she insisted on seeing him, despite a Legal Aid defence lawyer recommending that he not appear on screen.
Denton walked into the AVL booth draped in the blanket and reluctantly sat down, briefly facing the camera before standing up and turning his back to it.
Legal Aid solicitor Maer O’Donoghue told the judge she would be applying for ‘a Section 19B’, a mental health provision that allows a defendant to be taken to a facility for clinical assessment.
Judge Moody said she could not make the order because Denton was charged with ‘the strictly indictable offence’ of murder, and Ms O’Donoghue admitted she had tried but couldn’t get instructions from him because he had not spoken.
When Judge Moody tried to ask Denton if he had ever been diagnosed with a mental health condition or taken medication for one, he replied, ‘no memory’.
Inside the house which police found still ablaze and partially destroyed by fire, police found the decapitated body of 70-year-old Michele Denton, a longtime resident and an Alpaca breeder
Before hear death, which was described by a judge as ‘horrific’, Michele Denton lived at the Mole River property (above) for 15 years, breeding Alpacas, harvesting their wool for weaving, and ‘enjoying a quiet life’
When told he would be sent for assessment, Denton said, ‘No comply. I need my lawyer.’
When proceedings resumed after Monday’s lunch break, Judge Moody refused a different application by Ms O’Donoghue under the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act.
She said the provision was ‘only available in certain jails like Long Bay’.
Judge Moody formally refused bail, noted it had not been applied for, and remanded Denton in custody until November 18, when he is due to appear in Armidale Local Court.
