New details have emerged about the death of a grandmother who was hit by a car inside her own home, as her killer claims she should not be found “mentally responsible” for the tragedy.
Batoul Sleibi El Dirani, 30, faced a special hearing at Penrith District Court on Monday over the high-speed crash that killed Robyn Figg, 62, as she slept at her home in St Mary’s, in Western Sydney on October 8, 2022.
Dirani was traveling up to 65km/h over the speed limit with a baby in the back seat when his Jeep Grand Cherokee crossed the Monfarville St property.
She fled the scene with the baby before being arrested and taken to a mental health facility. She also assaulted two police officers during the process.
El Dirani was subsequently charged with aggravated dangerous driving resulting in death, negligent driving resulting in death, failure to stop and assist, and two counts of assaulting a police officer in the execution of his duty.
On Monday, he pleaded not guilty to all charges, citing mental illness.
It came as the court heard new details about the scene first responders faced as they battled to save Ms Figg’s life.
Batoul Sleibi El Dirani, 30, was traveling up to 65km/h over the speed limit with a baby in the back seat when his Jeep Grand Cherokee plowed through the house in St Mary’s, western Sydney, on October 8, 2022.
The court heard Ms Figg was sleeping when El Dirani, traveling between 112 and 115km/h in a 50km/h zone, failed to turn after reaching a T-junction.
The car crashed into a tree, a bicycle and a street sign outside Ms Figg’s home, before crashing into the front wall and crashing through the back bedroom.
Crown prosecutor Cassandra Hurford said Figg, who was sleeping in the back bedroom, was “thrown…over a back fence and onto a neighboring property”.
Emergency services frantically performed CPR but, despite their best efforts, Mrs Figg died at the scene.
Hurford said El Dirani was observed by “several witnesses” acting erratically as he left the scene with his five-month-old baby in his arms.
“She was later located by police heading east on Carpenter St,” he said.
“Police observed that she was making strange comments, including whose baby it was and whether it was her baby.”
Robyn Figg, 62, who died during the incident, is pictured with her granddaughter Grace.
El Dirani’s car was allegedly shot through the house on the residential street at around 5.20am on October 8, 2022 (above)
Hurford said that as a result of her “unusual and erratic” behavior, El Dirani was taken to Nepean Hospital, where she was scheduled to receive mental health treatment involuntarily.
Meanwhile, at the scene, police officers spoke to El Dirani’s husband, who said he had woken up that morning to find his wife, baby and house keys missing.
Hurford said El Dirani’s husband was concerned about her mental state in the weeks before the accident.
‘He [also] informed hospital staff of the defendant’s mental state at the time of the collision,” Ms Hurford told the court.
“I had sought medical help by taking her to a family doctor and was in the process of having her evaluated by a psychiatrist, but it didn’t happen because [that appointment] was [scheduled for] a few days after the collision.
El Dirani’s lawyer, James Trevallion, told the court it was admitted his client committed the acts that killed Mrs Figg.
However, because of his mental illness, he said his case should be handled as a mental health incident, an argument the prosecution agreed with.
The court heard two psychiatric reports, prepared by an expert on behalf of the Crown and an expert acting on behalf of the defence, both of which concluded that El Dirani was suffering from a mental health disorder at the time of the accident.
Pictured: The Figg family last Christmas: Robyn’s daughter Daisy and her partner Ian (far left), Mrs Figg (centre back) and her mother Betty (centre front), son Josh, wife Liz , his daughter Grace (right).
Judge Miiko Kumar said both experts appeared to agree that El Dirani was suffering from psychosis at the time of the accident, although their terms of diagnosis varied.
Ms. Kumar noted that Dr. Adam Martin, for the Crown, found that El Dirani suffered from schizophrenia, possibly induced by postpartum depression, while Dr. Allnutt, for the defense, diagnosed his symptoms as a chronic adjustment disorder.
Hurford said the Crown was seeking El Dirani’s conditional release and referral to mental health court, with Dr Martin noting there was a risk his condition could manifest again.
He noted that El Dirani was treated with medication while in the hospital shortly after the accident and that a second type of medication used was effective.
Kumar said that, given the evidence, he was likely to pursue El Dirani’s case under the Mental Health Act. He will give his verdict on the case at Penrith District Court on Tuesday at 10am
During the hearing, El Dirani nervously fiddled with the zipper of her purse while sitting next to her husband and an Arabic interpreter.
Once she concluded, her husband protectively escorted her out of the courthouse and away from the reporters waiting outside as they headed to a nearby parking lot.