Schizophrenic man who killed dad admits manslaughter

A man with severe schizophrenia who stabbed his father to death in a "brutal" attack has been given a hospital order after admitting manslaughter.

Adam Merritt stabbed 60-year-old Robert Merritt 16 times at the home they shared in Orton Malborne, Peterborough in June 2022.

At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, Merritt pleaded not guilty to murdering his father, who had cared for him for more than a decade, but guilty to manslaughter.

Judge Mark Bishop said the medical evidence "all pointed in one direction" and handed him a hospital order with restrictions because of the risk his illness posed.

He went on to add that it was a "tragic case" for the entire family.

Merritt, who had lived with a chronic psychiatric disorder since 2008, launched the attack on 28 June before dialling 999 and telling the call handler what he had done.

Cambridgeshire Police said officers found a bloodied knife in the kitchen sink. A post-mortem examination concluded Robert Merritt died from stab wounds.

His son was charged with murder but after being deemed unfit to stand trial so in April 2023 a trial of facts took place instead at Peterborough Crown Court.

Unlike a normal crown court trial, a trial of facts is used to determine whether or not someone committed an act but not whether someone is guilty.

The jury heard Merritt had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication two weeks before the attack but had taken a dose of medicine the day before the killing.

It was then that he was first given a hospital order.

The Attorney General, however, later concluded he was fit to enter a plea, which he did on Friday, admitting manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

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