10 years' jail for man who stabbed, killed wife he thought was a demon

Believing that his wife was a demon who had to be banished back to the abyss, a man who suffered a relapse of schizophrenia repeatedly hit her with martial arts sticks and stabbed her neck.

Australian Paul Leslie Quirk, 49, had heard voices prompting him to kill his Singaporean wife Christina Khoo Gek Hwa.

He had also seen a passer-by wearing a marathon "finisher" T-shirt.

After killing Madam Khoo, 43, in their Sengkang condominium, Quirk, a podiatrist at Punggol Polyclinic, stabbed their 10-month-old poodle and threw it out of their home's third-storey balcony.

Quirk, who was in Singapore on a long-term visit pass, believed that the dog was a familiar - a spirit companion - that "could have brought the demon back to life".

When the police arrived, he answered the door covered in blood, and said he was "Jesus Christ".

Yesterday, he was sentenced to 10 years' jail by the High Court after he pleaded guilty to a charge of culpable homicide.

The charge was reduced from murder, as his psychiatric condition was assessed to have substantially impaired his mental responsibility for his acts. Another charge of mischief for killing the dog was taken into consideration.

The court heard that Quirk suffered a relapse because he reduced his intake of his prescribed medication about four months before he killed Madam Khoo on Jan 3 last year at Esparina Residences.

He had moved from Australia to Singapore in 2016 and married her in August 2017.

Madam Khoo's LinkedIn profile indicated she was a director and consultant at a management consulting company based in Burlington, Massachusetts.

The couple had occasional arguments about the alimony that Quirk owed his former wife in Australia, Deputy Public Prosecutor Andre Chong told the court.

Quirk was first diagnosed with depression after his divorce in 2001.

In 2005, he started to experience auditory and visual hallucinations and believed he needed to save the world by dying.

He achieved full remission after he switched to an anti-psychotic medication, but suffered relapses when he stopped taking it.

After he moved to Singapore, he saw a psychiatrist and was prescribed the same medication.

On the night of Jan 2 last year, the couple had an argument, which led to Quirk leaving his home.

But he was persuaded by his brother to return home the next day.

VOICE

That morning, the couple visited the nearby Catholic Spirituality Centre, where Quirk heard a voice telling him that he had "a chance to stop this from getting worse".

He continued hearing voices when they headed home.

At about 11.50am, Quirk grabbed the martial arts sticks and began hitting Madam Khoo.

When she collapsed, he took a knife and repeatedly stabbed her neck.

After killing the dog, Quirk sent a text message to his brother, stating "it is done".

This article first appeared in The Straits Times.