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A father of four accused of stabbing a woman to death was seen walking around naked by his carers despite suffering a crippling disease, a court has heard.
Autumn Baker, 40, of Darley – about 60km north-west of Melbourne – was allegedly murdered by Hoppers Crossing plumber Mark Graham Ludbrook on August 3, 2023.
Police allege Ludbrook stabbed Ms Baker to death with a steak knife in what his defence claims was a drug-induced psychosis after she tried to stop him from stabbing himself, a court was told.
The Supreme Court of Victoria heard Ludbrook suffers from a rare condition known as Transverse Myelitis – a neurological disorder caused by inflammation of the spinal cord – and had only been able to walk a few steps at the time of the alleged murder.
But on the day Ms Baker was allegedly murdered, Ludbrook’s two in-house NDIS-funded carers noted he was up and about walking through his home naked.
The court heard one carer observed Ludbrook acting ‘strangely’, including speaking quickly and irrationally.
‘When the applicant stood up and took his pants down I noticed how strong his stance was,’ one carer later told police.
‘He wasn’t in any pain today and he just started walking around the house naked … it was so weird because him walking was supposed to be this triumphant moment.
Autumn Baker was allegedly murdered by Mark Graham Ludbrook on August 3, 2023
Mark Graham Ludbrook is accused of murdering Autumn Baker in 2023
‘But it just wasn’t because he was just being so weird and not even acknowledging that he was up walking and not in any pain.’
The court heard Ms Baker arrived at Ludbrook’s home to discuss being his housemate just before 1pm where she discussed his odd behaviour with carers.
Police allege he then went to the kitchen and armed himself with a steak knife and returned to his bedroom where he was seen stabbing himself in the stomach.
Justice John Champion said a carer attempted to intervene and was assisted by Ms Baker who grabbed the knife.
‘(The carer) left the room to call triple-0 but before the call connected, she heard Ms Baker scream,’ he said.
‘(She) went back into the bedroom and observed Ms Baker on the floor with (Ludbrook) standing or kneeling over and making stabbing motions at her.’
The court heard Ms Baker had fought for her life, sustaining defensive wounds to her hands and arms in her final struggle.
Ms Baker’s body was found by police inside Ludbrook’s house on Grevillea Crescent in Hoppers Crossing, west of Melbourne.
Autumn Baker had strong views about the Covid-19 lockdowns
Autumn Baker
Justice Champion told the court that Ludbrook had only met Ms Baker a year earlier and had become friends.
‘Between December 2022 and August 2023 the pair communicated intermittently and in late July and early August 2023 the applicant offered his spare room for Ms Baker to rent,’ he said.
‘She was considering this offer at the time of her death.’
Toxicology results later determined Ludbrook had been on ketamine and 2’-fluoro-2-oxo-phenylcyclohexylethylamine – a recreational designer drug from the aryl cyclohexylamine family, with dissociative effects similar to ketamine.
In applying for bail last month, Ludbrook appeared in court sprawled flat on his back in a custom-built wheelchair.
Ludbrook told the court he was diagnosed in 2022 when he said he had been paralysed from the chest down.
‘I could move my hands but they were locked in claws and my diaphragm um, I found it difficult to breath towards the end, and that was about after three or four months of hospitalisation,’ he told the court.
Ludbrook claimed he could only stand for about two minutes at a time in the period leading up to the death of Ms Baker.
Autumn Baker during a ‘freedom protest’ while Victorians were trapped within the world’s longest Covid-19 lockdowns
The court heard Ludbrook had been estranged from his wife and had been living with a friend.
‘The wife decided to move on, so I was fortunate to have a friend let me stay at his place,’ he told the court.
The court heard Ludbrook had been able to move about more freely at the time of the alleged murder with the use of ketamine.
In opposing bail, prosecutors argued Ludbrook posed a risk to the community if he was able to get his hands back on illicit drugs.
But Justice Champion ruled that risk could be made acceptable due to the bail conditions he imposed on the alleged killer.
‘As to the strength of the prosecution case, it seems almost beyond question that the applicant stabbed and killed Ms Baker,’ he said.
‘The real question is whether it arises in relation to the applicant’s state of mind at the relevant time.’
Justice Champion said it appeared Ludbrook had been in a confused and dissociated state as a result of taking various drugs.
Autum Baker travelled around Victoria protesting against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations
Autumn Baker at an anti-lockdown protest in 2022
‘It is likely that a key matter in this case will be what legal consequences flow from the finding that the relevant drugs were self administered and possibly caused a drug-induced psychosis or something of that nature,’ he said.
‘There is no suggestion that the applicant suffers from a disease of the mind such as to give rise to a possible defence of mental impairment.’
On Wednesday, Justice Champion allowed Ludbrook to be released back into the community on bail despite police fears he could pose a significant risk to the community.
Ludbrook will be released from Port Phillip Prison into a care facility until his murder trial in August, when he will likely stay in a city centre hotel or AirBnB while attending court.
Ms Baker had made a name for herself during Victoria’s record-breaking Covid-19 lockdowns, which she vehemently opposed.
Videos captured from the time show Ms Baker participated in numerous protests across Victoria against mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations.
At that time, Victorians who refused to receive the Covid-19 vaccinations at least three times were being sacked, with the remainder of the state facing endless lockdowns if they did not comply.
On January 15, 2022, Ms Baker took control of a microphone at a large protest in support of tennis ace Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic had been detained and then deported from Australia after taking a stance against the Covid jab.
Standing before the mob of frustrated Melburnians, Ms Baker chanted: ‘The people united will never be defeated’, ‘Hey Pfizer leave our kids alone’, ‘Hands off our kids they are not your Guinea Pigs’, ‘Free Victoria’ and ‘No more vax pass’.
