Nurse Murder Trial Hears of Witchcraft Curses and Designer Bag Dispute
A judge-alone trial in the New South Wales Supreme Court has heard chilling details of a nurse's stabbing murder, with prosecutors describing a case involving wild claims of curses and witchcraft, a raging argument over designer bags, and stolen money. The victim, 42-year-old Erin Mullavey, was found dead by her husband, Nicholas Gilbert, late at night on Easter Sunday 2023 in her western Sydney apartment.
Childhood Friend Charged with Murder
Morten Birkegaard Jensen, 35, was arrested four months after the killing and faced trial on Monday. Prosecutor Monika Knowles told the court that Jensen had been friends with Mr Gilbert since childhood. Hours before the murder, Jensen was seen paranoid and agitated at a friend's place, speaking about witchcraft and a Nigerian witch doctor.
'The accused said someone close to him had placed a curse on him,' Ms Knowles said as the trial began before Justice Phillip Boulten. That afternoon, at Mr Gilbert's home, Jensen became agitated again when Ms Mullavey called him homosexual and suggested he performed sexual acts for drugs.
Dispute Over Designer Bags and Cash
The situation escalated that evening when Jensen learned that Mr Gilbert or Ms Mullavey had sent threatening messages to a female friend, claiming she had stolen designer bags and $20,000 in cash. This threat related to an incident where the couple had sought a buyer for some bags they had stumbled upon. No buyer was found, the bags disappeared, and the threatening texts were sent from their shared phone.
Jensen, who was in custody at the time, learned about the dispute on Easter Sunday. The court was told he then rode his bike to the nurse's Merrylands home to kill her, texting the woman, 'Going to fix this now.' There is no dispute that Jensen stabbed Ms Mullavey that night. After the killing, he switched clothes, took a train to a friend's place in Sydney's northern beaches, and stayed the night.
Confession and Mental Health Defence
Eight days later, Jensen admitted to the murder, telling his female friend, 'She was bad, she was putting spells on us, I had to do it. The universe told me to do it.' During the trial, Jensen—whose neck tattoos showed above his prison-issued green top—pleaded not guilty to murder due to a claimed mental health impairment.
Two psychiatrists agree he was experiencing a psychotic event at the time, with one diagnosing schizophrenia and the other drug-induced psychosis. Public defender Tom Quilter SC urged Justice Boulten to accept this and find his client not guilty. However, Ms Knowles argued that Jensen's beliefs in witchcraft and conspiracy theories could be cultural rather than due to mental health, noting his conduct after the killing—including lying and covering up—showed he knew his actions were wrong.
Legal Options and Trial Continuation
Another option for Justice Boulten is finding Jensen guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter due to a mental health condition substantially impairing his thinking. The trial continues, with the court weighing these complex factors in a case that blends violent crime with supernatural claims and personal disputes.
