A woman who stabbed her boyfriend 17 times has gone missing again after being allowed to walk free from a mental hospital on day release.
Lee Bartel, 44, was given the green light by Thomas Embling Hospital doctors to leave the notorious Melbourne asylum despite repeated instances of her going missing.
Bartel was committed to the hospital for a nominal period of 12 1/2 years for the attempted murder of her then boyfriend Garry Thomas in October 2007.
The court heard she stabbed Mr Thomas 17 times to the back of the head and neck while he slept.
She then stole Mr Thomas’ mobile phone and left him for dead with a punctured lung.
Bartel has a psychiatric history dating back to 1999 when she was diagnosed with a ‘schizoaffective disorder’.
She was deemed unfit to stand trial due to mental impairment, and involuntarily admitted to Thomas Embling Hospital.
In 2013 – just six years after her violent attack – Bartel went missing for four days after she failed to return from unescorted leave.
Despite the breach of trust, Lee was allowed back out again on unescorted day release almost instantly.
In 2015, she vanished again only to be found the following day in Dandenong – 42kms from the hospital in Fairfield.
John Herron, whose daughter Courtney was brutally murdered by Henry Hammond in August 2019, told DailyMail he was deeply disturbed about the decisions being made within Thomas Embling.
In March 2021, Supreme Court of Victoria Justice Phillip Priest ordered Hammond be moved from Port Phillip Prison to Thomas Embling Hospital under a custodial supervision order that could be reviewed as early as next year.
‘The Thomas Embling Hospital revolving door is not going away,’ Mr Herron warned. ‘The real question is how many others have escaped that we don’t know about.’
In a statement issued by Victoria Police on Sunday, force command indicated it was more concerned about Bartel’s welfare than that of the public.
‘Bartel, who is believed to travel on public transport, is not considered to be a risk to others in the community,’ a spokesperson wrote.
‘Police are concerned for her welfare due to a medical condition which requires medication.’
Bartel left the hospital on Friday and was believed to be headed to St Kilda before she failed to return at 5pm as part of an approved custodial order.
Police were notified of her disappearance after she failed to return by the nominated time.Police went public with Bartel’s disappearance after failing to locate her.
Bartel is described as being Caucasian, 170cm tall, with a solid build and blonde hair.
She was last seen wearing heavy makeup, a black singlet dress, black boots and puffer jacket.
