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Offender Database Louise Anne Bell

Louise Anne Bell

Alias

.

Offences

Attempted murder of a Wanganui medical professional in mid 2004
This is her second conviction for attempted murder

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1962

Current Location

unknown

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to three years in November 2004
Since released

Background
From a Sunday Star Time story 6th November 2004
Woman jailed for second time for attempted murder

A Wanganui woman has been jailed for the second time for attempted murder.

Louise Anne Bell, 42, was sentenced in the High Court at Wellington yesterday to three years in prison for trying to strangle a medical professional at Good Health Wanganui's Te Awhina mental health unit. Bell, who suffers from borderline personality disorder and major depressive disorder, was a patient at the unit. A jury found her guilty after a trial at the High Court in Wanganui in September.

It was the second time she had been convicted of attempted murder. In 2002 she was jailed for 12 months after trying to suffocate a semi-comatose friend who had earlier attempted to commit suicide. Bell's lawyer, Lance Rowe, said she was reacting to stress following a "substantial" period of hospitalisation. She had just been released into the community. Her usual reaction to stress was to harm herself but on this occasion she had hit out at the medical professional, whose name was suppressed.

Bell was being treated for her illnesses, but because of her extreme reaction to stress and likelihood of harming herself would have to be kept under virtual solitary confinement if sent to prison, Mr Rowe said. However, Crown prosecutor Andrew Cameron said the community had to be protected from Bell until treatment had lowered the risk of her re-offending. Justice Wild said Bell choked the medical professional for 10 to 15 seconds until she was pulled away by a passing staff member. Bell apologised for her actions a few minutes later, but staff at Te Awhina had now been issued with panic pendants and panic buttons were being installed, Justice Wild said.

Though Bell had a continuing problem of dealing with unexpected episodes of anger, a psychiatric assessment found that she did not need to be hospitalised, but could be treated in prison or in the community. It was expected she would need up to two years of therapy before the risk of further offending was significantly reduced. In deciding the length of her sentence, Justice Wild took into account that the offence was not premeditated, her victim was not injured and no weapon was used.

Article is reproduced here

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Corrections and Additional Information
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