Woman convicted of ax attack after jurors reject her transgender medication defense

Evie Amati was found guilty of attacking people inside a Sydney 7-Eleven store last year. (NSW District Court)

An Australian woman who injured two people during a convenience store ax attack has been convicted of attempted murder after jurors reportedly rejected her argument that she was suffering from a mental episode caused by medications she was taking to transition from male to female.

Evie Amati, 26, was found guilty Friday for the unprovoked 2017 attack in Sydney and will face sentencing in September, according to the BBC.

"I really hope that [Amati] is able to have some sort of rehabilitation because ultimately that's what justice is about,” Sharon Hacker, a victim who suffered a fractured skull in the attack, told reporters following the verdict.

On January 7 last year, Amati was captured on surveillance video walking into a 7-Eleven store carrying an ax around 2 a.m. local time.

She walked up to a man waiting in line at the cash register, later identified as Ben Rimmer, and talked to him briefly before swinging the ax at him, the BBC reported. Rimmer fell to the ground with a facial wound and fractures, while Hacker was then attacked near the door.

Amati winds up to take a swing at Rimmer. (NSW District Court)

Amati also targeted a third man outside the store, but he managed to protect himself by using his backpack as a makeshift shield.

The BCC reported that Amati was arrested outside the store. During her trial, the victims said they thought she had come from a costume party when she walked into the store with the weapon.

Amati pleaded not guilty and told jurors that she was in a bad mental state because she was taking hormones to help her transition from male to female, the station added.

Her lawyer, Charles Waterstreet, was quoted saying Amati was “out of her mind” and was also affected by drug and alcohol use.

But the jury ultimately sided against Amati, convicting her of two counts of wounding with intent to murder and another count of attempted wounding with intent to murder.