Andrew Magill murdered Mary Ann Moorhouse in a brutal attack with an ax. However there are many deeper layers that make this case a fascinating and tragic story.
First Contact with Andrew
Police are called by a concerned citizen describing a crazed man shouting and attacking cars. Below is the moment police catch up with Andrew and you can see straight away how erratic his behavior is.
Initially it is believed that Andrew is suffering from a drug related episode however once inside an ambulance his ramblings become even more deluded. He seems to believe he was the son of god and that the devil, a man named ‘Arthur’ has been following him.
Andrew Turns Violent
Unfortunately these delusions then turn violent whilst in hospital. Andrew manages jump up and attack a police officer, even though he has been heavily sedated. It was later stated by Andrew he believed that the officers were trying to kill him through his medication, giving reason to the unprompted attack. Andrew managed to get hold of the officers gun during this struggle and pulled the trigger shooting the officer in the arm. Thankfully the gun jammed when he came to fire again and he was subdued by the onrushing police officers.
At the same time as this is happening a concerned friend has called police to complete a welfare check on his friend Mary Ann Moorhouse, after she hung up the phone abruptly and hasn’t been heard from since. At the scene the officer states that it's giving him a ‘bad vibe’. This is because he has knocked and shouted numerous times but gotten no response other than a dog barking. In order to carry out a search the officer requests backup.
Upon the arrival of backup the two officers then begin to search the premises and this is when they back a shocking discovery. They find the body of a woman with an ax lying beside her. The below clip shows the deputy describing the scene in front of him, the shock in his voice is clear.
A confession
News of this crime reaches the detectives and they immediately suspect Andrew because of his increasingly odd behavior. A comment he made early on to police stands out particularly as almost a confession to the crime. Below is the clip of Andrew making this comment that was initially dismissed as just insane rambling however now is something much more sinister.
Andrew is cleared for release from hospital the next day and brought into a police interrogation room…
The Interrogation
The interrogation is an interesting one as Andrew describes how the devil has been following him in the form of a man named ‘Arthur.’ He believed that ‘something was gonna hurt’ him and that he had to kill Mary in order to destroy this evil presence.
He goes on to describe how he believed that by killing her it would all stop and that the threats would be no more. He states ‘I think she got possessed by the guy.’
He then goes on to admit that he did indeed kill Mary and knew what he was doing was wrong. This is key to the case as it mitigates the defense of Andrew not being of sound mind during the attack.
To conclude the interview Andrew talks about how he would never have done something like this until these delusions started. Although again he gives reason as to why he had to do this and mitigating his responsibility for the crimes. In the below he states he felt accomplished which is a slightly odd statement to make, is this his true feeling or just another way of saying he feels he did the right thing.
What really happened and why?
On the night of the murder Andrew and his brother had been smoking cannabis and talking about demons for hours. Andrew then headed out in his truck before abandoning it running by the side of the road. He then continued on foot until he reached Mary’s house. He then confronted Mary before attacking her with an ax he found and left at the scene. He then hitchhiked to where police officers found him in the street.
Andrew had a history of drug abuse however claimed he had only smoked weed over the past year. It was speculated that Andrew was high on synthetic cannabis at the time of the murder which caused a drug induced psychosis. It is possible that the years of drug abuse had led to this point and the day when he finally snapped. A state psychologist reached this very conclusion when he was paid $100,000 to evaluate Andrew. He also stated that Andrew was competent at the time of the murder and therefore Andrew could be taken to trial for murder. A jury convicted him on the murder charges and he was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment.
What do you think?
Was he suffering from serious mental health issues and therefore not sane?
Had the drug abuse led to this point?
Was this all an act?
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