Gunnedah murder trial: teenager's act of murder proven but found not criminally responsible due to mental health, after death of young girl in July 2020

A special verdict was handed down for the teenager in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney on Tuesday.

The act of murder was proven, but the teen was not found criminally responsible due to the significant mental health issues she was suffering on the morning of July 8, 2020, when the girl was found dead.

A haunting statement read in court by the victim's paternal grandmother told of how she and her family had suffered because of the tragic loss of the girl they remembered as "kind and caring".

"Losing a child or a grandchild leaves a hole in your life that is never filled," she said.

"We want justice ... for the loss of her life and the loss of her future."

She said the "despicable" act had destroyed her son - the victim's father - and their family.

The court has suppressed much of the details of the case, including the teenager and the victim's identity and the fatal injuries that were inflicted.

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The grandmother said she understood the reasons for the strict court suppression orders but said the effect was also that her granddaughter became "nameless, anonymous" and that "this indescribable crime is hidden".

Crown prosecutor Lee Carr read a victim impact statement to the court penned by the mother of the victim.

She said she would have to carry the "excruciating pain" with her for the rest of her life and that the events belong in a horror movie.

"This is a nightmare that I can never wake up from ... I never got to kiss her goodbye," she said.

Acting Justice Carolyn Simpson was given six victim impact statements and told the court they reflected the suffering that had arisen from the "tragic event".

She read her judgement to the court at the end of the two-day, judge-alone trial and said she was satisfied based on the evidence, which included expert medical reports, that a mental impairment was established.

The court heard the experts had reported that the teenager had been "labouring" from a significant specific mental health condition which meant she didn't know that her actions were wrong.

"The whole of the evidence was put before the court in a single folder," Acting Justice Simpson said.

The bundle contained the expert medical reports as well as video footage of a Tamworth detective interviewing the teenager and a 41-page document of facts that had been agreed on by the prosecution and defence.

Acting Justice Simpson said the teenager caused the death of the younger girl on the morning of July 8, 2020, but she did not detail the injuries that were inflicted.

She said the teenager had then taken a bag that had been packed with clothes and walked to another home before asking the residents to take her to the police station.

She has been in juvenile detention since her arrest later that morning and acting Justice Simpson ordered her to remain in custody.

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