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Alleged university stabber committed to stand trial

A man accused of stabbing two women at the ANU has pleaded not guilty due to mental impairment. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

By Dominic Giannini in Canberra

The man accused of stabbing two women and attacking other students on a university campus will stand trial after pleading not guilty due to mental impairment.

Alex Ophel has been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two of common assault and one of possessing an object with the intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

Ophel has been remanded in custody and will appear before the ACT Supreme Court on July 17 after a mental health assessment was conducted for the Magistrates Court.

He was accused of repeatedly stabbing two women and bashing other students over the head with a frying pan during a September 2023 attack at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Fiona Coffey, the mother of student Ilysha Perry who Ophel allegedly stabbed, has said her daughter would have serious long-term issues and would not be the same.

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