CHELTENHAM MAN KILLS PARENTS IN TRAGIC PSYCHIATRIC BREAKDOWN
A man who stabbed both his parents to death has been detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital.William Warrington, 42, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his father Clive, 67, and mother Valerie, 73, by reason of diminished responsibility.
The divorced pair were found dead on 2 March at their respective homes in Gloucestershire.
Bristol Crown Court heard Warrington, of Cheltenham, had a long history of mental illness.
Warrington, of St George's Street, had denied murder but pleaded guilty to their manslaughter on Tuesday, after the lesser charge was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.
He had previously been given a restraining order for stalking supermodel Kate Moss.
In April 2019, he was handed an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Moss, after magistrates heard he had left gifts at her Cotswolds home, including a cake and a First World War helmet.
The body of Mr Warrington, a builder, was found at Sherborne Place in Cheltenham.
And his former wife was found dead at a property in Whiteshoots Hill, Bourton-on-the-Water.
At his sentencing hearing, the court heard Warrington had a history of subjecting his parents and other family members to "foul abuse".
The night before the killings, he absconded from medium-secure psychiatric unit Wotton Lawn Hospital, Gloucester, where he had been held since 17 February for attacking his housemate with a knife.
He had a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis.
Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Eady ordered Warrington be detained in a secure psychiatric hospital indefinitely under Sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act.
"There was significant evidence of abnormality of mental functioning, you were substantially misinterpreting innocuous events as having a special significance," she said.
Justice Eady remarked: "Your mental functioning provided an explanation for your actions in killing your parents." A statement by his family read in court said: "William's mental health has visibly been in decline over the last decade - that accelerated due to a deficiency of support for him and the family." Warrington had previously attacked a housemate.
Warrington believed he was being sent messages telepathically by the government telling him to kill his parents, and believed figures including Vladimir Putin were sending him messages via YouTube clips.
On the night of the killings, Warrington absconded from the facility by taxi, and went to his mother's house, the court heard.
Her body was found on the front lawn, and the defendant had driven over her when he left the scene in her car.
She had suffered significant injuries, including blunt force trauma to her head and body and eye injuries.
Neighbours of Clive Warrington called the police.
They had heard banging from his home at around 6:15 GMT on 2 March.
They heard Mr Warrington shouting for help and asking: "Why are you doing this?" Warrington was seen leaving the house covered in blood, and was arrested a short time later walking along the road.
Warrington was also found to have suffered extensive injuries, including multiple stab wounds.
The family said: "The pain of losing our parents is immeasurable and indelible, we will be carrying this grief for the rest of our lives." They added that his mental health had declined, claiming: "As he lost his mind, we lost our brother and in a fatal tragedy we have lost our mum and dad too." Justice Eady raised concerns about the supervision of Warrington and noted no attempt was made to contact his family after he absconded.
Gloucestershire NHS Trust expressed its condolences and announced an investigation following the tragic deaths.
A subsequent multi-agency domestic homicide review will examine whether the deaths could have been prevented.
