Murder accused attacked mum after she visited his dad's grave, court told

An artist who stabbed to death a millionaire hotelier and paralysed his mother has told a court he wanted to “give his mum a hug, not hurt her” after she visited his dad's grave.

Thomas Schreiber, of Gillingham in Dorset, is accused of the murder of 83-year-old Sir Richard Sutton and attempted murder of his mother Anne Schreiber, on April 7 2021.

Winchester Crown Court heard Schreiber sent a message two weeks before the attack saying "he thought and strategised every single day how to murder his mother and co".

The 35-year-old has previously admitted the manslaughter of Sir Richard and pleaded guilty to driving a Range Rover dangerously on the A303, A4 and M3.

The attack happened at Sir Richard’s Moorhill estate near Gillingham, Dorset, which he shared with the Schreiber family following the separation of the defendant’s parents.

Winchester Crown Court has heard the defendant was angry with his mother for moving in with Sir Richard.

He also felt that Sir Richard treated him unfairly compared to his two sisters despite receiving a £1,000 monthly allowance and £100,000 towards buying a house.

The court has also heard family arguments had descended into violence on three previous occasions, including once when Sir Richard hit the defendant with his walking stick in November 2020, causing the cane to shatter.

Before the fatal attack, Schreiber said he had laid out some nibbles and had been having a drink with Sir Richard to mark the eighth anniversary of the death of his father, David, who was an alcoholic and suffered from depression.

He told the court he attacked his mother, who arrived at the house from visiting her husband’s grave, after she said to him: “You are drunk, you are drunk like your father.”

Schreiber said: “I just went completely crazy, I completely snapped and I just launched for her and began attacking her uncontrollably.

“I shouted at her: ‘I am not.’ I was very upset.”

He added: “I think I hit her and called her a gold-digging b***h.”

When asked by prosecutor Adam Feest QC if he wanted to hurt his mother, Schreiber replied: “No of course not, do not be ridiculous, she’s my mother, we have had some tricky times but I didn’t want to hurt her.

“At times I hated her and Sir Richard but I didn’t want to hurt them, she’s my mother, we are joined at the hip.

“It sounds crazy, I wanted to give mum a hug, I wanted to have a nice drink to celebrate, I didn’t want to hurt her, I am a peaceful man, I am a calm man, I am not a monster, but there and then I was a monster and I couldn’t stop.”

He added: “You have to understand I couldn’t physically stop attacking my mother and Sir Richard and I was attacking, attacking, attacking.”

The defendant said his family “have been fighting our whole lives” and admitted losing his temper during previous family arguments but not on the night of the fatal attack.

He said: “On that night, my mum knew how sensitive I was about my father and she knew about all the history between us and she knew how close I was to him and I exploded and I completely lost it, but on previous occasions it was just family squabbles.”

Schreiber admitted that at “fleeting times” he was “consumed with hatred” and wanted “revenge” on his mother and Sir Richard, but not on the night of the attack.

In one text message in February 2021, he wrote: “My mother is a gold-digging c*** who did her very best to put dad in the ground.

“My sisters have followed suit. I’ve seen the bank accounts and they are ASTOUNDING. My mum’s partner is a total rich c***. I can’t stand him.”

'I think and strategise every day about how to murder my mother and co'

And in a message sent by the defendant on March 1 2021, he wrote: “It’s the anger that makes me want to act and take revenge,” with another message on March 25 stating: “I think and strategise every single day how to murder my mother and co.”

The defendant said lockdown made the situation with his family worse but his painting in his studio was his “only solace”.

He also accepted he was a “hypocrite” by having a “sense of entitlement” to Sir Richard’s money.

He added: “I just wanted to move out and be a success and make them proud.”

Schreiber denies murder and attempted murder and the trial continues.