In CCTV footage from the foyer of the Commonwealth Law Courts, where Arthur Phillip Freeman went after tossing his daughter Darcey 58 metres to her death, his sons Benjamin, 6, and Jackson, 2, are seen grabbing his waist and tugging at his arms.

While they do so, Freeman refuses to acknowledge them and instead stands peering out a window, unresponsive to security and family court staff, shaking in manner that was described by a witness at his murder trial yesterday as ''catatonic''.

Security officer Rao Aziz told the jury he was at the front screening point when Freeman approached him and tried to hand over his two-year-old son.

After he asked if everything was OK Freeman began crying, so was taken aside as several people tried to ascertain what was wrong.

Family Court psychologist Ilana Katz said Freeman appeared to be in a ''frozen state'' and looked ''anguished''.

''There were tears rolling down his cheeks, there was liquid running from his nose [and] from his mouth,'' she said. ''He made no attempt to alter that situation. He seemed not to be responsive to any attempt I made to engage him.''

She told the jury she described his condition to a colleague on the day as ''catatonic'', but admitted that she was not a psychiatrist and so was unqualified to make such a diagnosis.

Another counsellor, Christine Bendall, testified that it was only after she touched his arm firmly and told him everything was going to be all right, that Freeman looked at her and replied ''No''. ''At that point, he cried, he sobbed much more loudly,'' she said.

The footage later shows Freeman being frog-marched from the court by police.

One of the officers, Senior Constable Shaun Hill, said before he knew who Freeman was, he asked him what had happened that day. Freeman responded ''Take me away'', the officer said. Orders then came through to detain him and take him to the homicide squad headquarters.

Clinical forensic registrar Justin du Plessis, who was called to determine whether Freeman was fit to be interviewed by police, said he was ''extremely concerned'' about Freeman's mental state and recommended an urgent psychiatric assessment. He said he believed Freeman was ''falling apart''.

But when asked by prosecutor Gavin Silbert, SC, if he could have been in that state ''as a result of having thrown his child over the bridge'', Dr du Plessis agreed.

Mr Silbert asked: ''The shaking, the crying, the trembling, the refusal to answer questions, are those symptoms medically that are consistent with being in a state of shock?'' The doctor replied: ''Yes, they are.''

Freeman, of Hawthorn, has pleaded not guilty to his daughter's murder. His defence claims he was mentally impaired at the time. The trial, before Justice Paul Coghlan, is continuing.