A psychologically unstable software engineer, David Reid was sentenced to at least five years and six months in prison for killing his mother as she ate breakfast and his father slept in bed.
David Reid, 48, pled guilty to the manslaughter of his parents Diana, 71, and Graham, 75, in their Sutherland home, where he had lived his whole life.
On the grounds that a mental condition seriously hindered him, the court accepted his pleas to the lesser charges.
After a court concluded he had a mental health condition at the time of his parents’ deaths, he was sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison.
Exclusive: Eight days before he was arrested over the possible stabbing death of his elderly parents, David Reid arrived at work with a “noticeable amount of blood” on his collar | @LucyCormack https://t.co/xNPh3bMUDf
— The Sydney Morning Herald (@smh) August 7, 2019
Sydney: Who Are David Reid Parents Diana And Graham?
On August 6, 2019, Diana and Victor Graham Reid were assassinated at the Sutherland house they shared with their son David Reid.
The judge stated that he had attacked his parents without any inciting event or disagreement but was preoccupied with his “distorted and gloomy perception” of them.
His parents had looked after him and given him a home throughout his life.
He had no legitimate reason to be angry with them, but he stabbed them in what must have been horrific conditions for each of them.
Reid’s lone sibling, Andrew, and his wife Milly gave victim impact statements, describing the tragic effects of the death of his parents and, in some ways, his brother.
The state of mind of David Reid has been described as frightened, troubled and vulnerable. The 46-year-old faced court today, accused of stabbing his parents to death in Sutherland. https://t.co/OHXjsQaQed @ebatten7 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/ZPm4qw59qF
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) August 12, 2019
David Reid Parents: Details on Diana and Graham Stabbed To Death. Is He Arrested?
Experts concurred that David Reid was severely hampered at the time by severe depression and avoidant personality disorder, for which he had had no therapy earlier.
As for David Reid’s bio, he had worked as a software engineer for a firm that made poker machines since 1998, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Reid stabbed his mother when she was eating breakfast on August 6, 2019, before going into the bedroom and murdering his father while he was in there and then getting out of bed.
Reid then contacted 911 himself after the heinous crime, informing the operator that he had attempted but failed to perform a murder-suicide after being unable to commit suicide.
Also, when asked whether or not he had a suicide letter, he showed how he had sent dark remarks on social media sites in the days leading up to the stabbings, referring to things going wrong, feelings of despair, and suicide.