A man who stabbed and hacked his neighbor to death mistakenly believing he was a pedophile who raped him as a child has been detained indefinitely.
Bristol Crown Court has learned that Matthews is convinced he was the victim of a child abuse ring when he was 10 years old.
And when Paul Wells, 39, became his neighbor in Highbridge, Somerset, he accused him of historic abuse and killed him as he sat in his back garden on a hot summer day .
Although Matthew’s previous behavior worried his family and the police, he was never referred for mental health treatment, the court said.
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The 45-year-old, from Edithmead Lane, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis of reduced liability.
He witnessed his conviction via video link from Broadmoor Hospital as Judge William Hart issued him with an indefinite hospital order.
The judge told him: “Mr. Wells had done nothing at all to bring about what had happened to him.
“His death is a tragedy,
“His family has been deprived of him forever.
“He was only 39 years old.”
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James Ward, prosecuting, said Matthews had a troubled childhood during which he may have been sexually abused.
But he became more and more restless and paranoid when Mr. Wells became his neighbor and thought people were trying to hurt him.
The court heard that he had put up signs on a “pedo” and sent a message on social networks that his neighbor was a “child murderer”.
He also turned his house into a secure control room, from which CCTV cameras monitored both the interior and the exterior.
Police cordoned off Edithmead Lane in Highbridge after a man’s body was found in a garden (Image: Mike Lang)
It was in June of last year when, fearing Matthews had suffered a blackout, his mother called the police and officers attended his home but he did not respond.
The court heard that an ambulance and a fire crew later visited him, forced their way in and found Matthews agitated.
Ambulance personnel took a knife, visited later, but no concerns were noted.
Later that day, neighbors saw Matthews emptying the trash in front of his house, saying, “This shit won’t need his car anymore.”
He fell to the ground, covered in blood, before knocking on doors saying he needed a few bags to put a body in.
Matthews said to a spectator, “I killed him.
“Take a picture and you will get £ 60,000 if you sell it in the newspaper.
“I murdered him and he deserved it.”
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It turned out that Matthews had gone to Mr Wells’ garden and stabbed him in the neck and body with a homemade spear, Mr Ward said.
His mental health was such that he was eventually sent to Broadmoor Hospital, but he was found fit to plead manslaughter on the grounds of diminishing liability.
Although this plea was accepted by the prosecution, in a personal victim impact statement Sarah, Mr Wells’ sister-in-law, said her family considered what had happened to be murder.
She told the judge: “Paul was amazing, kind a beautiful soul.
He had friends all over the world.
“He was taken from us and we miss him so much.
“Words cannot express the pain and anguish her family endured.
“It’s hard to deal with what happened. He was horribly murdered … maybe one day Richard Matthews will explain his disgusting actions.”
Several doctors have recommended an unlimited hospital prescription for the protection of the public.
Charles Row, defending, said his client was responding to treatment but there will be “years and years” of treatment to come.
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Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-04-16 16:01:36
