Judge rejects role of Ozempic in grandmother's roadside stabbing attack

Judge finds mental health issues spurred grandmother's roadside stabbing attack Fri 26 Jun 2026 at 5:14pm In short: A 60-year-old woman has been sentenced to 27 months in jail after stabbing her grandson and daughter-in-law by a roadside in Wollongong last year. The judge rejected the defence argument that weight-loss drugs played a role in "sudden, overwhelming anger" ahead of the attack, but accepted mental health impacts. What's next? The woman will be eligible for parole in September. A 60-year-old woman who stabbed her daughter-in-law and grandson in an unprovoked roadside attack in Wollongong last year will serve time in jail. The woman's defence team had submitted a report from a medical professional that stated the woman was likely suffering from a state of "sudden and overwhelming anger" at the time. They said it had been induced by a combination of a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis, long-term depression and side effects from prescription drugs, including the weight-loss drug Ozempic. In handing down his sentence in Wollongong District Court today, judge Abdul Karim found it was not proven that the weight loss drugs had substantially impacted the woman's conduct in the offences, and he accepted the crown's submission that there was no evidence that such drugs caused violent outbursts. He did accept the causal link between her long-running mental health issues and the offence, and imposed a special circumstances finding in the case. Judge Karim found that due to her mental illnesses, the grandmother was not aware her conduct was morally wrong at the time and her moral culpability was substantially reduced. A psychologist's report noted she suffered from anxiety, PTSD and recurrent major depressive disorder. Judge Karim also noted that the stabbing was an incident of domestic violence that had had a substantial impact on the victims. In a victim impact statement, the daughter-in-law described the attack as the moment that "fractured our lives", saying it had had a significant physical and psychological impact on her and her son. She was unable to return to her job in the medical field because she was triggered by sharp instruments and the sight of blood, while in a letter to the court, the boy described feelings of "shock and sadness". He wrote that he had thought he was going to die and had been "scared and worried" about his mother. Judge Karim noted the grandmother previously told the court she did not remember large parts of the event and expressed that she was "ashamed and sorry". He said while he did not accept the woman's account of events in full, she had shown "genuine remorse" and was at low risk of reoffending. Each offence carried a maximum of seven years imprisonment. The woman appeared via audio-visual link and wept throughout the hearing as she received a sentence of 27 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 months. With time served, she will be eligible for release in September. Violent roadside attack The court heard the woman, who pleaded guilty to two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, had had no history of domestic violence or criminality before the stabbing on June 11 last year. The woman had followed her daughter-in-law and 10-year-old grandson on their drive to judo that evening. She admitted to pulling in front of the car and reversing into it, then emerging wearing gloves and holding a knife. She opened the car door, stabbed her grandson in the neck and leaned across to stab her daughter-in-law in the abdomen. During the attack, the court heard she had told the pair, "Calm down, it's just a joke." Bystanders intervened, and the victims were taken to hospital with severe injuries. They were discharged several days later. The grandmother has been in custody since the night of the attack.