A man who violently assaulted his mother before being killed by police had experienced delusions for years, and sometimes told his friends he had to “kill” people because he was on a mission from God, it has been said in the Court of Forensics.
Gabriel Messo, 30, who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2014, was shot dead by police at the John Coutts Reserve, north of Melbourne, on 16 July 2020.
Gabriel Messo and his mother Lilla. Credit: Facebook
Messo had invited his mother Lilla to the reservation. When he arrived, he pushed her to the ground and hit her, repeatedly stabbing her head and neck with a wooden stick.
After 17 minutes, police arrived and one of the officers fired three shots at Messo’s chest, killing him.
Her mother was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries after suffering four cardiac arrests.
He survived the attack, but now lives with an acquired brain injury.
The Gladstone Park crime scene. Credit: Eddie Jim
State forensic judge John Cain began investigating the circumstances of Messo’s death on Tuesday.
Victorian Coroners Court was told that in 2014 he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder after suffering his first episode of psychosis.