Son, 21, admits killing his mum, 47, after voices in his head told him to stab her 100 times
A YOUNG man has admitted killing his 47-year-old mum after voices in his head told him to stab her 100 times.
Zak O’Neill, who was just 19 at the time, carried out the frenzied attack on his mum Michelle at their home in Oakley, Gloucestershire.
Michelle’s mutilated body was discovered by her mum Christine at the house she and Zak lived in back in March last year.
Horrified Christine returned home from walking the family dog to find blood in the hall and her daughter laying on the living room floor with injuries to her face.
Police scrambled to the scene on Salamanca Road but the mum was sadly declared dead at the scene.
O’Neill, now 21, was charged with murder in March.
And although he denied the charge, O’Neill pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
But he has now been given a hospital order at Bristol Crown Court following his plea.
Judge William Hart sentenced him to a Restricted Hospital Order, meaning O’Neill will remain in hospital until a medical tribunal or the Ministry of Justice considers him fit for release.
The judge told him: “You have some insight, you have expressed remorse. That may be an enormous burden and it is one that will be with you for the rest of your life.”
William Hunter, prosecuting, said the day before the killing O’Neill contacted police concerned about his mental state.
Soon after Christine found the body, O’Neill called police and told them: “I killed someone – I felt an urge to kill. I’ve cut my wrists and stabbed myself.”
He gave police his address and then went to the Air Balloon pub, near Gloucester, covered in blood.
A shocked O’Neill told staff: “I’ve done something bad, I’ve killed my mum, I tried to kill myself.”
Cops arrived at the scene and found his car still running outside as O’Neill told them: “I don’t know who I am.”
While in custody he told officers that voices in his head instructed him to go to the gym naked or do something worse – and he did the worst thing he could think of.
The court heard Michelle sustained 92 injuries with 33 of those described as “more than superficial”.
Andrew Langdon KC, defending, said: “We acknowledge these cases are not particularly easy. This is a tragic, miserable case.
“There is no background of hostility, conflict or animosity between him and his mother. He became seriously, mentally unwell. He had sufficient insight.
“He had made a phone call the day before the incident. It’s no-one’s fault, no-one recognised it as the sort of problem it turned out to be.”
‘HEARTBREAKING’
Two eminent consultant forensic psychiatrists also reviewed the case in detail.
They both agreed O’Neill was suffering from diminished responsibility by reason of paranoid schizophrenia and recommended the hospital order.
Detective Inspector Adam Stacey, of Gloucestershire Police, described the case as “heartbreaking for everyone involved”.
Mr Stacey said: “From our investigation and subsequent psychiatric reports, it’s shown that this awful act didn’t come from a place of hate, but instead Zak O’Neill thought his actions would have a different outcome.
“Zak O’Neill will now be detained in a secure psychiatric hospital so that he can continue to receive the appropriate support.”
In a statement issued after the case, Ms O’Neill’s family described her as a “much-loved mother, daughter and sister”.
“She was devoted to her son with whom she had a loving relationship, which makes this tragedy so shocking and difficult to come to terms with,” they said.
“Michelle is much missed and will be forever in our hearts.”