news, crime

A Canberra university student accused of trying to murder his tutor and classmates with a baseball bat had a historic obsession with US school shootings, a court has heard. The ACT prosecution alleges Alex Ophel, 19, had planned to kill his classmates before raping one surviving woman. Friends of Mr Ophel reported he had seemed to admire and sympathise with the mass murderers, in particular, Elliot Rodgers, and would joke about raping women, the ACT Supreme Court heard on Monday. On August 25 last year, Mr Ophel allegedly used a baseball bat to attack four students and his tutor during his Australian National University statistics class. His classmates restrained him until security and police arrived. The attack left two students with broken arms, while another two people suffered fractured skulls, the court heard. Mr Ophel is on trial on the Supreme Court accused of attempting to murder five people. He has pleaded not guilty. The defence is expected to admit much of the allegations, however, will argue their client is not guilty by way of mental impairment. The court heard Mr Ophel has been subsequently diagnosed with schizophrenia. In his opening address on Monday, ACT deputy director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold said Mr Ophel had been gifted both academically and athletically during high school, thought himself better than others, and expected to succeed in life. However, Mr Drumgold said the defendant had instead struggled transitioning to university and had been frustrated in his romantic endeavours. The court heard Mr Ophel had told a friend he was failing his statistics class, and that the lecturer was a "dumb b****" who he wanted to punch in the face. Mr Drumgold also described how Mr Ophel had unsuccessfully attempted to establish a fanbase via a youtube channel. The senior prosecutor alleged the defendant had spent about a month planning the attack. On the day before the incident, the court heard Mr Ophel had made a number of internet searches, including "How easy is it to kill someone with a baseball bat", "ACT life sentences", "ACT murder laws", and "ISIS beheadings". Mr Drumgold said the defendant had also flirted with extreme causes, visiting white supremacists and ISIS webpages. He posted a final message on his youtube channel and wrote a warning on a 4chan forum, which said: "If I were you I'd keep an eye out downunder. It's getting a bit batty this time of years". The post included a picture of a baseball bat, the court heard. On the morning of the attack, Mr Drumgold said Mr Ophel had sent friends farewell messages, before drinking a cocktail of coffee and port to disinhibit himself. The prosecutor said these actions showed a high degree of reasoning and that Mr Ophel had been in control. Defence barrister, John Purnell, SC, will present his opening submissions to the jury on Tuesday.

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