Son of slain Australian football coach pleads not guilty
Xinhua, December 11, 2015 Adjust font size:
The son of late Australian football coach Phil Walsh has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his father, by reason of mental incompetence on Friday.
Cy Walsh, 26, was charged with the murder of the Adelaide Crows' head coach in July, after police were called to the scene of his death in Adelaide.
Phil Walsh was found stabbed in his Somerton Park home in the early hours of July 3, while his wife - and Cy's mother - Meredith was also found with leg injuries.
On Friday, Cy appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates via video link from a secure psychiatric facility to plead not guilty through his lawyer. He has been summoned to face the Supreme Court in February.
In order to be cleared of murder through mental incompetence, the court must be presented with an independent psychiatric report which confirms that Walsh was not in a sound metal state.
Phil Walsh led Adelaide to a 7 win and 5 loss start in the Australian Football League (AFL) before his murder. Following his death, the Crows went on to make finals, dedicating the success in the 2015 season to Walsh.
Walsh also played 122 games with three clubs throughout the 1980s. He was highly regarded as one of the best new coaches coming through the AFL system. Endi