A psychiatric expert today accused Ferdinand Ambach of deliberately avoiding, rather than not remembering, details of his assault on Ronald Brown which left the elderly gay man dying on the stairs of his Onehunga home. Professor of Psychiatry Graham Mellsop, for the prosecution, also told the court he believed Ambach has given in evidence only a selective account of what happened during his attack and rampage, and was specifically omitting anything to do with his actual assaults on Brown. Mellsop also doubted Ambach's attack on Brown and his home were carried out unconsciously, a process known as automatism, as has been suggested by the defence. Defence psychiatric witness Dr Ian Goodwin said he could not rule out automatism but believed Ambach's apparent memory loss could be attributed to a mix of alcohol and a prescription sedative such as was found in Brown's home. With the trial past its half-way point it has been noticeable that although members of Brown's family have attended court each day, there has evidently been no one supporting Ambach. It was explained today that Ambach has requested that no friends or family attend. A more detailed report of today's High Court proceedings, including background and character statements beamed into the court from Hungary, is available on the link below.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 1st July 2009 - 11:26pm