Family of woman stabbed to death by man with schizophrenia demands inquiry

The family of a pensioner stabbed to death by a man with schizophrenia who had been discharged from a unit for patients with acute psychiatric problems today demanded an inquiry into the case. Martin Davies, who was in the care of a community mental health team, attacked Gwen Poole, 66, as she walked to a skittles match because voices in his head ordered him to kill a stranger, Cardiff crown court heard. Before the attack Davies, 23, of New Tredegar, Caerphilly, had tried to get himself admitted to hospital without success, the court heard. It was also claimed in court that on the day of the killing Davies was taken to the shops by members of the mental health team and bought alcohol. Ordering Davies to be detained indefinitely at a high security hospital, Mr Justice Griffith Williams joined the calls for an inquiry. He told Davies: "This was a terrible crime, a senseless killing. You knew it was wrong to kill someone but it was the voices that told you to do so." Poole's son, Ian, said Davies should never be released, while the mental health charity Sane expressed concern that he had not had access to the inpatient care he had asked for. David Aubrey QC, prosecuting, said Davies was diagnosed as schizophrenic when he was 17. He said: "A symptom of his illness is that he suffers from command hallucinations – he hears voices." He said Davies was placed under the care of psychiatric services in 2005 and had been a patient at a number of psychiatric hospitals. Four months before he attacked Poole, he was discharged from Ty Sirhowy, an acute psychiatric unit, into the care of a community mental health team and was taking anti-psychotic drugs while living with his brother. Aubrey said: "The team would visit him every day and administer his medication to him. He appeared to have been stable on his medication, and there was no evidence of any psychotic relapse." On the day he attacked Mrs Poole, Davies had been taken to the shops by members of the mental health team and had bought vodka, Coca-Cola and cigarettes. He drank the alcohol later in the day and briefly fell asleep, the court heard. Aubrey said: "He woke up at about 7.30pm and his mood had deteriorated drastically. He was by now hearing voices in his head, command hallucinations to kill." He armed himself with a bread knife, hid it in a pocket of his tracksuit and left the flat. Poole, a member of a women's skittles team, was on her way a match in the village of Llanbradach, near Caerphilly, where she had lived all her married life. Aubrey said: "He walked up to Mrs Poole, taking the bread knife out of his pocket. Without any warning, he plunged the knife into her chest and upper body at least four times." Covered in blood, she staggered to her son Ian's house nearby and banged on the windows. She died in hospital later. In mitigation, John Charles Rees QC said Davies had realised he had problems and had tried to seek help for them. "On a number of occasions in the past he had sought help from psychiatric services and had sought, without success, admission to hospital. "There is no doubt the treatment received by him from the psychiatric services and the decision not to keep him in hospital will come under close scrutiny." In a victim impact statement, her son Ian Poole, 42, said: "She is the last thing on my mind at night and the first thing when I wake." Of Davies, he said: "This man has given us a life sentence where life means life. We pray someone so evil who can take our mother's life will not be allowed to walk the streets again." Outside court Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Erasmus, who led the investigation by Gwent police, said: "Gwen was killed by a complete stranger with no apparent motive. Her family must live with the fact she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." In a statement, Gwen's relatives said: "We as a family would welcome an inquiry into the care and support provided for Martyn Davies." Davies pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.