Man who beat his partner to death found 'not criminally responsible'

The family of Mavis Stanley, an Indigenous woman brutally beaten to death by her partner in outback New South Wales, has been left shattered by the tragedy. Her daughter, Jennah-Leigh Dungay, told the NSW Supreme Court that the killing has "dismantled" her family forever, leaving a void that cannot be filled.

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You have stolen a future that none of us will ever get to experience.

Andrew Charles Smith, 50, was found not criminally responsible for the murder of 47-year-old Ms. Stanley in October 2024. Justice Peter Hamill determined that Smith was likely suffering from schizophrenia with delusional beliefs at the time of the offense, rendering him unable to reason about the wrongfulness of his actions.

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My mother was the matriarchal protector of our family, the strength when it was needed and not needed.

Ms. Stanley is remembered by loved ones as a strong, caring woman with a "big heart." Her daughter addressed Smith directly in court, describing the damage caused as "unforgivable, unjust, uncultured and in its shortest form a pure evil." She recounted that it took "15 minutes of brutality using weapons to end my mother's life," an act that dismantled the hearts of family and friends forever.

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The extent of the damage caused is unforgivable, unjust, uncultured and in its shortest form a pure evil.

Dungay shared the significant mental health impacts she has experienced since her mother's death. She called for strengthened laws to protect women and children, particularly Indigenous people. "When a woman has a daughter, she creates a version of her heart that walks in physical form," she told the court. "So long as I breathe and live, she will speak and live through me." While Smith may have taken her mother's physical body, Dungay asserted that his actions could never extinguish her spirit, soul, memory, or laughter.

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Fifteen minutes to dismantle our family's and friends' hearts forever.