Callum James Cameron: Man who stabbed his mum 62 times appeals murder conviction

A man who stabbed his mother 62 times while high on a cocktail of potent psychedelics drugs is appealing against his murder conviction and sentence. The West Australian can reveal that lawyers for Callum James Cameron — who was jailed for life over his mother’s death — lodged two notices of appeal to WA’s highest court on December 20. They plan to fight both his murder conviction and his life sentence over his mother’s killing — a minimum term of 20 years. A hearing date in the WA Court of Appeal has not been set. Cameron admitted to being responsible for the 62 stab wounds that killed 63-year-old nurse Carol Ann Cameron. But the 31-year-old denied the charge of murder, arguing that his intoxicated state meant he could not form the intent to kill. His mother had called paramedics to her St James property in the early hours of August 10, 2020, amid concerns her son was overdosing on ayahuasca, an extremely potent plant-based psychedelic drug. He had also taken the hallucinogenic psilocybin, also known as magic mushrooms. Ms Cameron told them her son was acting “weird” and paramedics were trying to help before he turned on his mother with a knife. In November, Supreme Court Justice Joseph McGrath found Cameron guilty of murder after a judge-only trial. The draft grounds for the appeal of Cameron’s conviction argued that decision was a “miscarriage of justice” in light of “expert advice” from a psychologist and toxicologist. The notice of appeal references the toxicologist’s claim that the “severe” level of DMT, the psychoactive ingredient in ayahuasca, coursing through Cameron’s system meant he did “not have a grasp on reality,” and therefore, should have been found unable to kill with intent. A psychologist made an assessment, according to the appeal notice, that there was “no evidence” that Cameron planned to attack his mother or cause harm to anyone else on the day of her death. According to the draft grounds of the sentence appeal, his lawyers will allege Justice McGrath made an error by linking his mental illness to the offending, instead of blaming it on the high amount of drugs in his system. They say if this was readdressed it should reduce his overall sentence. In confronting triple-0 call audio released by the Supreme Court, a paramedic at the scene can be heard asking St John WA’s State Operations Centre for police back-up amid fears Cameron would “kick-off” before the stabbing. Paramedics had found him lying on his bed rubbing his face into the pillow and when he sat up, he had dilated pupils and a vacant expression. “Ultimately we are going to ask the police please, we are not under any direct threat, most definitely not a code black,” the paramedic said in a call timed at 2.23am on August 10. “If we could get them rolling that would be fantastic. “He’s OD’d (overdosed) on something and he has a very unpredictable feel about him. We want to stress it is not a priority but just definitely for our protection, I guess.” By 2.27am the situation had escalated, with the paramedic declaring a “code black” as Cameron began stabbing his mother. “Code black, mate, please, he’s stabbing the mum ... he’s stabbing the mother,” the paramedic told the communications centre. The paramedics were in another room when they heard the nurse saying, “no, no, stop. He is stabbing me”, then saw her come into view, trying to crawl away from her son. Defence lawyer Helen Prince, who appeared during sentencing, said Cameron had long suffered an underlying mental illness and on the night of the killing, had overdosed to a state of “delirium and confusion”, upset about breaking up with his girlfriend. Justice McGrath rejected evidence from a psychologist who found Cameron did not have the capacity to know what he was doing when he killed his mother. “I am satisfied that the accused did know what he was doing at the relevant time,” Justice McGrath said when he was found guilty. “I am satisfied that the accused’s actions were clear, unequivocal and purposeful. “I am satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that when the accused stabbed the deceased with the knife 62 times, he intended to kill her.”’ During sentencing, the attack on his defenceless mother was described as ferocious, extremely violent and persistent. “Your mother should have been safe in her own home with her son,” he said. The judge said mental illness and drug abuse were inextricably linked but ruled Cameron had voluntarily consumed illicit drugs and that his intoxication was intentional. He said the 31-year-old was an experienced drug user and who had even taken prescription medication to prolong the ayahuasca’s peak.