Man who stabbed mother to death cleared of murder

Christine Bauld, 55, was pronounced dead shortly after emergency services arrived at The Coppice

A man who fatally stabbed his mother outside their home has been found not guilty of her murder.

The jury verdict came after Gregor Bauld, 23, pleaded guilty at the start of his trial to manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Leicester Crown Court heard Bauld attacked Christine Bauld, 55, outside their house in Burbage, Leicestershire, on the morning of 3 March following a row over his drug use.

He will be sentenced at the same court on 8 November.

During the trial, the jury heard the dispute between Bauld and his mother led him to arm himself with a kitchen knife and follow his mother out of the house, in The Coppice, before administering a series of blows.

Bauld had been sectioned in the past over threats to kill his mother because she was, in his words, "an alien".

The court heard he had used drugs since he was 13 or 14, with prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC saying he had been "in the grip of a destructive cycle of drug abuse" before the stabbing, with blood and urine samples showed "striking" traces of drugs, including LSD and ketamine.

Family 'devastated'

In an interview with police relayed to the trial, Mr Bauld explained his son had been found taking drugs, later found to be ketamine, which were confiscated.

However, the court heard on the morning of the killing, Mr Bauld inspected his son's trousers while he was showering and found two plastic bags containing drugs.

Mr Bauld threatened to flush the drugs, later found to be LSD, leading to a confrontation.

Mrs Bauld decided to leave the property and walk the dog but her son followed her out and fatally stabbed her, the jury heard.

Paramedics arrived at the scene where Mrs Bauld was in cardiac arrest and underwent emergency surgery "on the concrete" before being pronounced dead 37 minutes later, Mr Aspden said.

Det Insp Mark Parish, from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit's murder investigation team, said: "A family has been left utterly devastated by the events of that morning.

"Throughout the investigation, it became clear that Gregor was suffering with mental health issues at the time of the incident.

"The family of Mrs Bauld have shown immense bravery throughout the investigation and subsequent criminal proceedings and my thoughts continue to remain with them at this most difficult time."