David Reid Stabbed Parents To Death: Who Are Diana And Graham? Let’s find out.
David Reid, a mentally ill software engineer, was sentenced to at least five years and six months in prison for murdering his mother while she ate breakfast and his father slept in bed.
David Reid, 48, pled guilty to manslaughter in the death of his parents Diana, 71, and Graham, 75, in their Sutherland home, where he had lived his entire life.
The court accepted his pleas to the lesser charges on the grounds that he was severely hampered by a mental condition.
He was sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison after a court determined he had a mental health condition at the time of his parents’ deaths.
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
David Reid Stabbed Parents To Death: Who Are Diana And Graham?
Diana and Victor Graham Reid were assassinated on August 6, 2019, at the Sutherland home they shared with their son David Reid.
According to the judge, he attacked his parents without any provocation or disagreement, but was preoccupied with his “distorted and gloomy perception” of them.
Throughout his life, his parents had looked after him and provided him with a home.
He had no legitimate reason to be angry with them, yet he stabbed them in what must have been horrifying circumstances for each of them.
Andrew, Reid’s lone sibling, and his wife Milly gave victim impact statements, describing the tragic effects of his parents’ and, in some ways, his brother’s deaths.
Jannali: The 46-year-old man charged with murdering his parents in their home has faced court with his lawyer describing him as troubled and frightened. https://t.co/OHXjsQaQed @ebatten7 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/9QdpRDSePv
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) August 12, 2019
Is David Reid Arrested?
Experts agreed that David Reid was hampered at the time by severe depression and avoidant personality disorder, for which he had previously received no treatment.
In terms of David Reid’s background, he had worked as a software engineer for a poker machine manufacturer since 1998, after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.
Reid stabbed his mother while she was eating breakfast on August 6, 2019, before going into the bedroom, murdering his father, and then getting out of bed.
Reid then called 911 after the heinous crime, telling the operator that he had attempted but failed to commit murder-suicide after being unable to commit suicide.
When asked if he had a suicide letter, he showed how, in the days leading up to the stabbings, he had posted dark remarks on social media sites about things going wrong, feelings of despair, and suicide.