Man stabbed mum 15 times over 'black magic curse' after she offered to make him breakfast

A man who tried to kill his mother, because he believed she had put a black magic curse on him, has been jailed for 20 years.

Gurkiran Bassan stabbed his mother up to 15 times at her home in Beachburn Way, Handsworth Wood, on 9 May last year, after she had offered to make him breakfast. 

He admitted attempted murder and was sentenced to 20 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

Bassan had been estranged from his mum since the age of 15 before re-establishing contact on Mother's Day, two months prior to the attack.

They remained in touch and things appeared to be going well before she became concerned at comments he was making about his late father, as well as a "separate universe". 

Then there was a significant incident in April of that year.

Prosecutor Deborah Gould said: "The defendant accused his mother of paying a clairvoyant to put black magic and a death wish on him, putting jadoo on him. Her response was to advise her son to stop using drugs."

Bassan, who had abused cannabis since the age of 16, accused his mother of "mental bullying" before warning "karma is going to get you".

He was hospitalised on 2 May 2022, and said he was "going to drag everyone down with me".

He also spoke about his father as if he was still alive prompting a mental health assessment, but it concluded there was no evidence of psychosis or paranoia.

Bassan was discharged and stayed the night at his mother's home in Handsworth Wood on 8 May.

The next morning he told his mother his emotions had "died off". He also asked if there was any CCTV as well as requested the house alarm be turned off. Bassan's mother messaged a neighbour asking them to come around.

When they knocked on the door she made a telephone gesture but the neighbour did not realise at the time that she wanted the police to be called.

Shortly afterwards, Bassan unleashed a "shocking and brutal" attack.

Ms Gould said: "She offered to make her son breakfast. The defendant replied: 'I was born different, you know I was born different. I was born to be evil'. She called 999 and put the phone in her pocket.

"The defendant then attacked his mother. He grabbed her by the neck and applied pressure. She was struggling to breathe and she fell to the floor.

"The defendant told her: 'Only one of us is leaving, it's either me or you'. She heard her cutlery drawer open. She was stabbed repeatedly by the defendant.

"He stopped for what she thought was about 10 minutes. She pretended to be dead but the defendant noticed her breathing, actually asking: 'Are you still breathing?'. He then grabbed a wine bottle and struck his mother to the head."

Bassan called emergency services claiming his mother had tried to attack him first but he eventually admitted to the police that his actions were unprovoked.

The victim suffered life-threatening injuries, including stab wounds to her back and arms, and would have died if not for the intervention of doctors.

Psychiatric experts were in dispute over Bassan's mental state. One believed that he suffered an acute transient psychotic disorder at the time of the attack, while another argued there was little evidence of psychosis because he was mentally capable of "manipulating the situation to his advantage".

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