Skipton man sentenced for manslaughter after stabbing parents more than 280 times

A man has been sentenced after stabbing his parents over 280 times in a "frenzy of violence".

David Taylor, 37, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of John and Beverley Taylor on 21 December 2021 on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

At a hearing at Bradford Crown Court on Friday 20 January, Taylor was given a hybrid order involving both hospital treatment and a prison sentence.

Mr and Mrs Taylor died after being attacked at their home in Regent Crescent, Skipton, where they lived with their son.

The court heard David Taylor had been suffering from audio hallucinations in the months leading up to the attack, and had told medical professionals he had been hearing "voices" that were telling him to murder people to save his family from "suffering for eternity."

It was said he had suffered with his mental health for several years.

Earlier in 2021 Taylor was discharged from hospital back to his GP, but in August asked for a referral for help with his mental health as he was "struggling". He described the situation as "urgent" and the court heard he had self-reduced his medication.

The next day, he was referred to the adult mental health service and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoid psychosis.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford said that in the months before the killings, Taylor was difficult to get hold of and failed to attend appointments.

The day before the attack, he saw a doctor and was given a prescription for medication, but was unable to get hold of it from pharmacists. Mr Sandiford added that unused medication was found in David's bedroom following his arrest.

At around 7am on 21 December, a neighbour heard a female voice "screaming".

The prosecutor said: "He could make out a few words which were something like 'don't come near me' or 'stay away from me'.

"At around 7.30am, he [Taylor] made a 999 call to the police. The defendant told the call handler he had just killed his parents by stabbing them to death. He repeatedly swore - not at the call handler but he clearly appreciated what he had done.

"He agreed to go out onto the front step to wait for police and put the knives in the house away from him."

Officers from North Yorkshire Police arrived nine minutes later. Taylor was not fit to be interviewed but at a later court hearing pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

At the sentencing hearing the court heard Mrs Taylor had suffered 95 injuries caused by a knife, including "four or five defensive injuries". Her husband had suffered 189 wounds.

John Jones, mitigating, said Taylor's mental health progress had been "sporadic" and "inconsistent" since the attack and he was still suffering from audio hallucinations telling him to kill others and himself.

Mr Jones said: "He requires ongoing treatment and contained conditions. He continues to present a risk of harm to others."

Giving evidence, a Dr King told the court he believed Taylor should not be locked up in a conventional prison due to the management of "someone as dangerous as he can be", saying: "It can take quite a while for problems to be picked up."

"I think it is likely Mr Taylor will kill again if he is returned to prison," he said.

As he sentenced Taylor, Judge Jonathan Rose said he had suffered with his mental health since he was 19 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and drug-induced psychosis.

He told Taylor his actions "deprived his siblings their parents and caused immeasurable pain to the family torn between their loss and the person responsible is you - a man loved by siblings and the wider family".

But he found Taylor intended to kill his parents, telling him: "You used three knives which suggest in the frenzy of the violence you had the presence of mind to change weapon."

Taylor will serve a minimum term of nine years in custody, after which he will go before a mental health tribunal, who will determine if he should be released.

In a statement, Taylor's sister said: "The whole family have what we call 'broken smiles' - we try but it's not there. If this had been a case where our parents had been murdered in such a horrific way by a stranger we could direct the hatred and anger at the stranger. I can't do that because the person responsible is the brother we love.

"We didn't just lose our parents in this tragedy - we lost our brother too. Our children have lost their grandparents and uncle."

She said Taylor "must have been in turmoil" and that the family believed he didn't receive the help he needed and he "couldn't cope with the demons in his head and that resulted in the murder of our parents."

The court heard an independent review into his treatment leading up to the attack would be carried out. 

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