A 15-year-old boy took an axe to his parents as they slept, intending to kill them, a court was told.
The boy, now 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, inflicted several deep cuts to his father’s head and face and cuts to his mother’s leg, arm and face. She lost part of an earlobe.
The teenager was made the subject of an indefinite hospital order by a High Court judge, Dame Justine Thornton, known as Mrs Justice Thornton, at Brighton Crown Court.
He admitted two counts of attempted murder and attended the sentencing hearing on Friday (12 September) by video link from a psychiatric hospital.
Ryan Richter, prosecuting, spelt out the father’s injuries in court, saying: “Blood was running down his face on to his top – and the bedsheets in the room were soaked with blood.
“His left eye had swollen shut. He was disorientated and had no recollection of what had happened.”
Mr Richter told Brighton Crown Court that he “was found to have suffered significant head injuries”.
He said: “Six lacerations to his face and head were present and a CT scan revealed he had suffered five skull fractures.
“There was a bleed on his brain and a piece of skull had become imbedded in his brain. It was decided not to operate to remove it due to the risk the surgery posed.
“He also had a broken finger and defensive wounds to his arms including a deep laceration to his right wrist.”
He was still receiving treatment, particularly for the injury to his hand and wrist, with the damage expected to be permanent.
Mr Richter said that the boy’s mother had cuts “to her cheek and to her ear causing the partial loss of her earlobe”.
He added: “She also suffered from lacerations to her leg and defensive wounds to her bicep.”
She told the police that her son had not been going to school because he was suffering from anxiety and depression and had reported suicidal thoughts.
Police started searching for the boy. He called Sussex Police from the yellow police telephone outside the Chatsworth Road police station, in Worthing.
Mr Richter said: “He reported that he thought he had killed his father and really hurt his mother. Police officers quickly attended the scene.
“He was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. It was noted that he had blood on his hands and on his clothing as he was booked into custody.”
When police searched the family home, “they found a number of graphic novels and literature depicting significant violence” in the boy’s bedroom.
They found a number of notebooks in which the boy had written entries about killing and a post-it note which read: “I can’t live with myself any more. I am sorry.”
In his police interview, the boy said that he had wanted to kill his parents because “he intended to commit suicide himself”.
Mr Richter said: “He told officers that he did not want his parents to ‘go through’ the fact that he had committed suicide.
“He told the police that he had issues at school and that he didn’t want to go to school. He said he had anxiety issues.
“He confirmed to the police he had been planning what had happened for a while.
“In the November of the year before, he had written about a desire to go into town and kill people and in a later entry (in his notebooks) had made reference to wanting to kill a homeless person.”
The boy told the police that he had just been thinking about killing but, Mr Richter said, the final entry in his diary said: “I have to kill my parents tonight.
“There’s no other way. I’ll never get better. Things will never change and I don’t have a choice.”
Rebecca Upton, defending, said that the boy required continuing hospital treatment for his own protection and for the protection of others.
The court was told that he had no history of previous offending nor of substance misuse.
The judge, Mrs Justice Thornton, said: “I have read a letter of support which your parents have written about you. It is clear that, despite all that has happened, they continue to love and support you.
“They say in their letter that you are a kind, thoughtful and intelligent young man who has experienced significant trauma which led to a mental health breakdown.”
The judge said: “When you were interviewed by the police you said you had wanted to kill your parents because you intended to commit suicide himself and you did not want them to experience the grief of your death.
“After the attacks you went to the roof of a multi-storey car park with the intention of killing yourself. You didn’t go through with this and instead contacted police.
“Your parent’s assessment of you is supported by the medical report of Dr (Oliver) White, a consultant child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist.
“In his report, he says that your offending appears to have been driven by hopelessness, a desire to escape suffering and a misjudged attempt to protect your parents from grief.
“It does not appear to have arisen from malice or anti-social intent but from an extreme and tragic collapse in your psychological functioning.”
The judge also heard from another child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist, Dr (Baldish) Chaggar.
The judge said: “Both psychiatrists are of the opinion that you are autistic, which is a diagnosis you do not currently accept, and that you suffer from a depressive disorder.
“They both consider that you need to remain (in a psychiatric hospital) for treatment, for your own health and safety and for the safety of others.
“Having considered the medical evidence and the nature of your offending I am satisfied that you are suffering from mental disorder, namely autism and a depressive disorder.
“Your mental disorder is of a nature which makes it appropriate for you to be detained in a hospital for ongoing medical treatment.
“The most suitable method of dealing with your case is by making an order under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 that you will remain admitted to and detained (in a psychiatric hospital).
“I am also satisfied that it is necessary to protect the public from serious harm and it is not possible to say for how long that will be so.
“Accordingly, I order that you will be subject to the special restrictions set out in section 41 of the Mental Health Act 1983.
“I make this order on the basis of the nature of your offending, the planning that went into it, that discharge into the community will be a point of particular difficulty for you, you do not necessarily accept the diagnosis of autism and there is evidence that you seek to mask your mental health difficulties.
“Given your mental health difficulties, the orders I impose are not a punishment for you but are for your own wellbeing and for the protection of the public.”
Detective Chief Inspector Steve Cobbett said: “This was a hugely distressing incident for all involved that could have had even more tragic consequences.
“I commend the responding officers and all those involved in the investigation for their diligent, sensitive work in bringing this case to a conclusion.”
