A woman accused of murdering two men in Melbourne and cutting off her boyfriend’s penis has pleaded not guilty to the killings by way of mental impairment.
Jasmine Eveleigh, 44, was charged with murdering Samir Esbeck, 59, and Sarkis Abboud, 61, at an apartment complex on Hope St, Brunswick, in Melbourne’s inner north on May 5 at about 5.20am.
Ms Eveleigh, who was understood to have been in a relationship with Mr Esbeck, was found later that morning at a tram stop in Carlton covered in a significant amount of blood.
Police allege the pair died as a result of stab wounds inflicted by Ms Eveleigh.
In the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday, the accused, who is being held in the Thomas Embling Hospital, a mental health facility, entered her plea of not guilty after she was read her caution by magistrate Kieran Gilligan.
At the beginning of the hearing, defence lawyer Domenic Care informed the court that Ms Eveleigh would be pleading not guilty by way of mental impairment.
Mental impairment exists as a defence under Victorian law if an accused person did not understand the nature of their thoughts and actions and did not know that their actions were morally wrong.
The matter has been sent to the Victorian Supreme Court, where a directions hearing will be held on October 3.
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