HUSBAND WITH DELUSIONS BLUDGEONS WIFE TO DEATH IN EAST LOTHIAN
An aspiring writer who harboured delusions that his estranged wife was trying to poison him with organophosphates and set fire to him, bludgeoned her to death with a hammer.George Storrier also believed that a powerful group of individuals was sending him coded messages warning him against his wife and tipping him off about her intentions.
Storrier was initially charged with murder but at the High Court in Edinburgh admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide of his wife Frances at her home in Dobson's Place, Haddington, East Lothian, on April 13 last year by striking her repeatedly on the head with a hammer.
Storrier, aged 47, will now be detained in the State Hospital, Carstairs.
Mr.
Norman Ritchie, advocate-depute, said the Storriers married in 1977.
At her death, Mrs.
Storrier, 45, was a systems information officer with the local authority.
The couple had lived in a flat at Winton House, Pencaitland, East Lothian, since 1982.
Initially happy, their marriage developed issues due to Storrier's personality.
Later, Storrier did not work but his wife, with her responsible role, supported him and provided a car.
They separated in July 1998, with Mrs.
Storrier getting a tenancy in her own name in Haddington, appearing to gain independence.
Storrier faced financial problems and couldn't maintain his flat without his wife's support, leading to his eviction.
He had started divorce proceedings, and it seemed the marriage was over, with divorce being the likely outcome.
However, Mrs.
Storrier was worried about his mental state, especially his concern about having to leave their long-term home.
On April 14 last year, Mrs.
Storrier did not show up for work, and a friend visited her house, finding Storrier present and claiming she was not in.
Police forced entry and found her lying on the kitchen floor with her head in a pool of blood, suffering nine major head wounds, including a depressed fracture.
Storrier admitted killing her, citing concerns about being homeless and reliant on her support for his car.
He described his actions: "I'm afraid I simply saw nothing in front of me except anger and just pure anger.
That's what I saw, her taking advantage of the situation.
To make sense of humiliation at that point, I killed her.
I hit her with a hammer in the back of the head.
I hit her in extreme anger and she did not fall.
She cried out and I hit her as much as was necessary after that." The defence argued that Storrier had suffered from a mental disorder, including delusions that his wife was poisoning him, which arose from a public debate during the Gulf War.
He believed he was guided by a group sending secret messages and falsely thought she set fire to a home where an elderly person died.
Psychiatrists diagnosed Storrier with schizophrenia or a delusional disorder, with schizophrenia being more probable.
They stressed he needs long-term psychiatric treatment in secure conditions for public safety.
Storrier expressed remorse for his actions and understood he was suffering from a mental illness, according to psychiatric assessments.
