Man killed step-gran thinking she had "stolen his soul"

A paranoid schizophrenic who killed his elderly grandmother in south Gloucestershire after claiming God told him to do it has been detained indefinitely at a secure psychiatric hospital.

38 year old Ryan Guest admitted the manslaughter of 87-year-old Una Dorney on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mrs Dorney was attacked at Oaktree House in Lake Rise, Yate, on June 18 this year.

Guest, who had regularly taken the legal high Spice for 18 months, told police he repeatedly smothered the widow with a pillow after hearing voices in his head from God telling him to kill her.

He also feared that Mrs Dorney had "taken his soul" and the day before the killing he had read a Shakespeare poem about the rape and suicide of a woman, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Mr Justice Dingemans detained Guest, of Birkdale, Yate, at a secure psychiatric hospital under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act but also imposed a restriction order under section 41 - meaning he may never be released.

"I consider that a restriction order is necessary for the protection of the public from serious harm because these offences have shown appalling violence that you can inflict when suffering delusional beliefs," the judge said.

"I am satisfied that this is the most suitable method of disposing of this case because Broadmoor Hospital with be able to continue to treat you and save the public from serious harm.

"As has been acknowledged on your behalf, this might mean that you are never released and it will ensure that you are not released when you remain a danger to the public."

The court heard that after Mrs Dorney's death Guest had been charged with murder and remanded to HMP Bristol where on June 26 he attacked inmate Mohamed Sharif, 38.

Guest also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Sharif, who has been left in a permanent vegetative state after suffering severe head injuries.

Psychiatrists said Guest had most likely been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for at least six or seven years.

The judge told Guest: "It appears you had developed psychotic beliefs in conspiracy, electromagnetism and vampires.

"At the time of the killing you were experiencing active symptoms of psychotic illness, suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

"That affected your ability to know what you were doing, to form rational judgments and to exert self-control. Delusional thinking led you to falsely appraise reality and led to aggressive acts."

The judge added: "It appears from the psychiatric evidence that you had developed the delusional belief that your step-grandmother had taken part of your soul.

"The killing of your step-grandmother has created what was described as a double tragedy for the family, namely the loss of your step-grandmother and your detention.

"You admitted assaulting Mr Sharif. You said you heard Somali voices at night saying 'number 16 is a dictionary'.

"You developed a delusional belief that the source of the voices was Mr Sharif and you came to believe that he was a threat to you and you determined to kill him."

Stephen Mooney, prosecuting, told the court that Guest had always lived with his mother and had a history of "social isolation" and had only done unskilled manual work, such as leaflet delivery.

Towards the end of 2013 Guest's family noticed that his mental health had been deteriorating and had begged him to seek professional help.

Mr Mooney said that Guest, who would regularly visit Mrs Dorney and would help with her care, had become delusional.

"He told psychiatrists of a significant event when he was caring for Una and as he had lifted her up he felt a pain in his chest and he reported to the doctors that she 'may have taken my soul'," Mr Mooney said.

"The day before the killing he had read Shakespeare's The Rape of Lucrece and he was to recall that he received a special message from God to kill his grandmother.

"That meant that he decided to kill her in accordance with the instructions he received."

Guest told police he smothered his grandmother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, with a pillow for about five minutes.

"She was still alive and he dragged her into the toilet to finish her off," Mr Mooney said.

"He thought that killing her was the best thing to do. He didn't stand to gain anything from her death."

Guest attacked Mr Sharif because he thought he was the Prophet Muhammad and had put a curse on him.

"He describes hearing the victim chanting and praying and he realised that Muhammad was the source of the voices and he felt he was the victim of a curse and being controlled.

"He realised that the only way to get rid of the voices was by killing Muhammad."

Richard Smith QC, defending, said Guest's family had tried to get him professional help and had suffered a "double tragedy".

"For some time they have been trying to alert others to their plight. They had real concerns about his mental health problems for some time," he added.