Court hears 999 call man made to hand himself in after he stabbed gran to death in Brighton

• Listen to the moment Pietro Addis calls 999 to tell police 'there's been a murder.'

The jury in the trial of a man accused of stabbing his grandmother to death in Brighton have been played a recording of the 999 call he made to police to hand himself in.

Popular restaurant owner Sue Addis, 69, was found dead in the bath at her home in the city on 7 Jan 2021. She'd been stabbed 17 times.

Her grandson, Pietro Addis, who was 17 at the time admits killing her, but denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mr Addis had called 999 shortly before 7pm that evening, and told an operator “I’m calling to turn myself in”.

He hung up after giving his grandmother’s address, but when the operator called him back and asked what he’d done, he replied: “There’s been a murder.”

Officers arrived at the home in Cedar Gardens minutes later, where they found Mrs Addis lying dead in the bath in blood-stained water. Post-mortem tests later revealed she had been stabbed 17 times.

• Watch the moment Pietro Addis is arrested by police

Mr Addis was charged with murder the following night. He admits killing her and has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. But he denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility – that he was suffering from paranoid psychosis at the time.

However, a jury at Lewes Crown Court on Wednesday (20 April) has been told that he was suffering no such psychosis, and that he bears complete responsibility for the crime.

Mr Addis had problems with concentration at school but never exhibited violent behaviour, the court heard. He was diagnosed with ADHD in 2018 and prescribed medication, medication he later told psychiatrists that he relied on to perform even routine daily tasks.

The following summer he began smoking cannabis, started a catering course, and began working at the family restaurants.

Yet, four months before her death his grandmother had told friends she was concerned about the teenager – and the amount of cannabis he was smoking. Describing him as “withdrawn”, she contacted a doctor, saying he was suffering from paranoia.

His father finally took away his ADHD medication, flushing it down the toilet. But, unable to cope with his mood swings, Pietro finally left his family home and moved in with his grandmother.

Just over a week later, he had killed her.

Mr Addis wept in court as his 999 calls were played to the jury. Police body-worn camera footage of his arrest at the home was also played.

Assessed by a clinical specialist nurse the following day, Mr Addis, then 17, was described as polite and appropriate with “no evidence of thought disorder, paranoia or delusional thinking”.

His defence will argue the frenzied nature of the attack, his behaviour before and after, all indicate psychotic mental illness. The Crown contend that he suffers no psychotic mental disorder – and since killing his grandmother he has been prescribed no anti-psychotic medication.

Summing up, Rossano Scamardella QC said: “As tragic and as bewildering as it maybe, Pietro Addis murdered his grandmother.”

The trial continues.