Batoul Sleibi El Dirani was spotted by police wearing a blue dressing gown and walking barefoot down a western Sydney street on the morning of October 8, 2022. Moments before, she had been behind the wheel when her black Jeep Grand Cherokee smashed through the front of a St Marys home, hitting Robyn Oxley, who was sleeping in the rear bedroom. The 62-year-old grandmother was thrown from her bed, through a window, and over the fence into a neighbor’s backyard. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Tuesday, a Penrith District Court judge found that El Dirani was not criminally responsible for the crash and Oxley’s death because she was having an acute psychotic episode at the time.
Joshua Oxley, Robyn’s son, said in a statement to the court that he did not wish any harm on El Dirani or her family despite his mother’s tragic death.
“I have to wish her the best treatment for her and her family,” he said.
The court heard of the Oxley family’s struggles after the crash, including financial difficulties and the potential loss of their home.
El Dirani’s SUV had been speeding down the road at more than 60 km/h over the speed limit when it approached a T-intersection. Despite having a baby in the car, El Dirani drove straight through, hitting the gutter, going through a street sign, striking a tree, and ploughing into Oxley’s home. The vehicle traveled through the house before hitting a water tower and a shed in the backyard and coming to a stop.
El Dirani fled the scene with the baby and was described by witnesses as disoriented, unsteady, and rambling to herself incoherently with dilated pupils. She was involuntarily admitted to Nepean Hospital, where staff noted she was experiencing auditory hallucinations and “bizarre delusions.” Psychiatrists diagnosed El Dirani with a major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms and agreed that she had a mental health impairment at the time of the crash.
Judge Miiko Kumar ordered that El Dirani be sent to the Mental Health Review Tribunal to be assessed for treatment.
