A man who killed his neighbour at their retirement complex while suffering from delusions has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order. Jonathan Moore, 64, fatally attacked James Henry Mayo, 80, in his flat at Welland Court, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, on the evening of April 14 last year.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder and later pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Bristol Crown Court heard Moore, who had no history of mental health or violence issues, had been behaving increasingly erratically in the weeks before the incident.
The court heard Moore became more and more paranoid in the weeks before the incident took place. Moore reported being stalked, that his telephone was hacked, that his flat was under surveillance and that he was being harassed by a man he believed to be his former colleague.
Judge Peter Blair KC, sentencing Moore on Friday afternoon, said: “You are going to lose your liberty for an indefinite period. You are not facing sentence for the murder of James Mayo because your responsibility for killing him was diminished by reason of severe psychotic mental illness.
“In my opinion, which is formed with the assistance of psychiatric reports, you continue to pose a very real and significant danger to the public of serious harm from future violent offences.” The judge described how Moore killed Mr Mayo, who he said was “an entirely innocent man”, having attended his flat armed with two screwdrivers and a car steering wheel lock.
Moore wrongly believed that he was being stalked by a man he believed to be a former work colleague and that Mr Mayo was involved in the conspiracy against him. “When he opened the door, you subjected him to a sustained, brutal and frenzied attack in the hallway of his own home,” the judge said. “The consequences were that he died.”
The judge told Moore that he was 63 years old at the time of the killing and had “never been known to show violent tendencies towards anyone”. “It was perfectly understandable that no-one predicted how you were going to behave that day,” the judge said.
Richard Posner, prosecuting, told how Moore had become increasingly paranoid in the weeks leading up to the incident. Mr Posner said Mr Mayo was survived by his sister, who had previously provided a statement describing his “positive character”.
“It is patently clear that Mr Mayo is a man who will be very much missed,” he said. Catherine Spedding, representing Moore, said her client had worked as a software engineer and had no previous convictions or history of mental health concerns. “He says he very much regrets his actions,” she added.
Following the case, Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Usher, of Gloucestershire Police, said: “This was a horrific and sustained attack on a defenceless man that has had a devastating impact on the family. This sentence allows Moore to be detained indefinitely in an appropriate institution where he can receive the support he needs.”