2016 Home Hill stabbings

Ayad attacked Mia Ayliffe-Chung, his roommate, as she lay in her bunk.[10] Ayad then stabbed hostel caretaker Grant Schultz in the leg and chased the hostel's pet dog Atari around the yard stabbing the dog until it died.[11] A second British backpacker, Tom Jackson, was also attacked when he tried to help the woman. He died several days later as well. Ayad continued to scream "Allahu akbar" as police officers worked to subdue him and threatened to taser him, injuring several officers.[12][13] Jackson and another guest, Daniel Richards, were subsequently awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for their efforts to aid Ayliffe-Chung.[14]

Ayliffe-Chung died at the scene.[15] Jackson suffered critical injuries in the attack, as he had been stabbed in one of his eyes and his brain, and died five days later in hospital.[16] Schultz suffered stab wounds to the leg.[17] The dog Atari died at the scene.[11]

Smail Ayad, who was 29 at the time of the murders, is a French national.[12] Ayad went out drinking once a week like many backpackers, where on Saturday nights he would travel to Ayr for rum or beer with other Frenchmen.[10]

Since his arrest, he has been transferred from Stuart prison to a secure mental health facility in Brisbane.[18]

Ayad was initially charged with Ayliffe-Chung's murder, the attempted murders of Jackson and Schultz, and a charge of animal cruelty. An additional 12 counts of assaulting police were laid a few days later arising from his attack on the police officers who had subdued him.[19] One of the attempted murder charges was upgraded to murder after Jackson died.[20]

On 5 April 2018, the Queensland Mental Health Court determined that Ayad was of unsound mind at the time of the killings. Four psychiatrists found he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and believed he was the target of an international conspiracy to kill him. The criminal charges were dropped against Ayad as it could not be proven he had an intent to kill. The court directed Ayad to be detained in The Park Centre for Mental Health for treatment.[9]

On 1 July 2020, coroner Nerida Wilson confirmed the preliminary findings, but also told that an inquest would be useless, since it only could come to exactly the same conclusion. Meanwhile, Ayad is still waiting for repatriation to France.[21]

The Islamic Council of Queensland criticised media reports for quickly linking use of this phrase with Islamic terrorism.[1] On 25 August 2016, the authorities were confident the stabbings were not an act of terrorism.[22] Several backpackers who have stayed at Home Hill before the double murder spoke out against the violence that had broken out previously and the drinking culture among the backpackers.[23] The town was called "Hell Hill" even before the murder incident and one former resident warned others to "avoid it at all costs".[23] Ayliffe-Chung's mother, Rosie Ayliffe, came to Australia for her daughter's cremation and began to investigate working conditions on Australian farms.[23][24]