In body-worn footage, William David Bugmy is seen distressed while handcuffed and seated on the steps outside his unit.
"They talk to me - the voices, man," he told officers.
"They're saying I'm a rapist, man - I'm not a rapist."
"I'm not a kiddy toucher."
As he repeatedly asks for a glass of water and some cigarettes, he tells police he is paranoid and that people were breaking into his home and putting things in his food.
He claimed he had not seen stabbing victim, 63-year-old Talbot Ward, for weeks and denied any involvement in his death a night earlier on July 21, 2023.
Bugmy is far from a no-name in legal circles, having become synonymous with a deprived childhood.
A 2013 decision about his background has become one of the country's most frequently cited High Court criminal judgments, ensuring judges and magistrates account for deprivation when sentencing offenders.
Bugmy's lingering psychological issues were spelled out on Friday as the NSW Supreme Court found him not criminally responsible of Mr Ward's death.
In reports before the court, two forensic psychiatrists diagnosed him with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and schizophrenia.
One of the doctors described consistent reporting of extreme psychosocial deprivation, witnessing of abuse and violence, early exposure to alcohol and the criminal justice system, and various other matters consistent with an unstable childhood.
"(At the time of Mr Ward's death) he had an ongoing disturbance of thought, mood and perception that would be regarded as significant for clinical diagnostic purposes, and that impaired his emotional wellbeing, judgment and behaviour," Dr Adam Martin wrote.
Relying on the expert reports, the Crown and defence both agreed Bugmy's mental condition meant he was not fit to stand trial or answer the charges.
In a special hearing, Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme agreed, finding the act of killing Mr Ward proven but Bugmy not criminally responsible due to mental health impairment.Â
On balance, based on the evidence and expert reports, Bugmy could not reason with a moderate degree of sense and composure that his act was wrong, the judge found.
The court heard Mr Ward had been intending to go out to celebrate his birthday when killed.
Minutes after a friend arrived at his unit, Mr Ward was set upon by Bugmy.
As he stabbed the victim at least once in the heart and once in the liver, Bugmy screamed "where's the money", a witness recalled.
Bugmy remains in custody.
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