‘I want to die’: Man stabs ambo 55 times
A man who fatally stabbed a beloved paramedic in the carpark of a southwestern Sydney McDonald's could be found not criminally responsible for the frenzied attack, a court has been told.
Jordan James Fineanganofo appeared before Sydney’s Supreme Court on Monday having earlier pleaded not guilty by way of a mental health defence to the stabbing murder of Steven Tougher.
The soon-to-be-dad was with a colleague at the Campbelltown McDonald's carpark shortly after 5am on April 14, 2023 after grabbing food when he was approached by Mr Fineanganofo.
The court was told the 22-year-old said nothing before launching into a frenzied attack on the young paramedic who had tried to defend himself but was “trapped” by the ambulance door.
Mr Fineanganofo stabbed Mr Tougher 55 times and left 24 incised wounds. Mr Fineanganofo continued to attack Mr Tougher after he fell to the ground and ignored attempts by bystanders to stop.
Agreed facts state Mr Fineanganofo said “I want to die” and “I am going to die anyway, I may as well kill him” before demanding an apology from one of the intervening witnesses.
Mr Fineanganofo continued attacking the paramedic, stating “I am going to f**king kill you” before police arrived and deployed a Taser. The horrific attack lasted three minutes.
Mr Tougher was rushed by ambulance to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition but suffered a cardiac arrest while en route. After an hour and 40 minutes of resuscitation, he was declared dead.
The court was told an agreement had been reached between the Crown and Mr Fineanganofo’s lawyers for a finding of “special circumstances” under provisions of the NSW Mental Health Act.
Under the Act, a person may be found not criminally responsible for an offence because of a mental or cognitive impairment. The matter will return on Friday for a judgment on finding.
Outside court, Mr Tougher’s father, Jeff Tougher, said the family, who broke down during proceedings, needed to be there to “get the facts”, but it was “hard to accept the opinions of others”.
“The saddest part about all of this is that if this person had asked my son for help he would have been showered in compassion and he would have the absolutely best treatment that was available,” he said.
Asked about the outcome on Friday of the application for a finding of special circumstances, Jeff Tougher said the family wanted to “get it out of the way” but would not comment further on the matter.
“You saw how hard it was for us … It’s just so hard to accept the opinions of others. Decisions have been made and there is nothing we can do about it now. We’re thinking about the safety of the community,” he said.
The Crown tendered psychology reports that described Mr Fineanganofo as having suffered from schizophrenia since he was teenager, and he had lapsed into psychosis while unmedicated.
The assorted doctors reported Mr Fineanganofo as having told them he heard voices, or auditory hallucinations, in his head that guided his thoughts and he felt unable not to follow them.
Prior to the attack, his mother reported he had become increasingly withdrawn over weeks, especially in the week leading up to the event, and had researched how to “tie a hangman’s noose”.
“She believed he was engaging in what she believed might be final acts, including transferring his funds to her and reported two nights earlier planning to kill himself by hanging,” the Crown said.
The prosecutor told the court that Mr Fineanganofo’s actions leading up to the killing of Mr Tougher were consistent with a desire to kill himself, including purchasing rope from a Bunnings Warehouse.
It was while there that Mr Fineanganofo’s hours-long campaign of terror began after he ordered a young mum with her infant to “get the f**k out” of his elevator and attacked a car with a knife, the court was told.
In the early hours of the following day, Mr Fineanganofo followed another driver for some time into a 7/11 petrol station, flashing his lights and beeping the horn of his sister’s car.
Once at the station, the court was told Mr Fineanganofo confronted the driver while armed with a knife, telling the man “you’re a man, you’re a man” before the driver fled across the road.
Mr Fineanganofo then returned to the petrol station and attacked another driver leaving the 7/11 who described to police that the 22-year-old had a “sadistic laugh” before the driver also fled.
Mr Fineanganofo proceeded to threaten and challenge two more motorists – one had stopped by the roadside and narrowly missed being stabbed – before he travelled to the McDonald’s.
Mr Fineanganofo kept his eyes downwards when he earlier reaffirmed his pleas of not guilty. When the final charge of murder was read aloud, Mr Tougher’s family and friends burst into tears.
Mr Tougher’s family sat through the extensive reading of the agreed facts and often broke down in tears as details of the paramedic’s horrific slaying were read aloud to the court.
Mr Tougher had only been on the job for about a year when he was killed and just five weeks earlier married wife, Madison Tougher, who was pregnant with the couple’s first child at the time.
Mr Fineanganofo faced eight offences – murder, being armed with and using an offensive weapon, larceny, destroy or damage property, wounding, stalking, and DV-related assault.