Man with delusional thoughts stabbed mum, court told

Christine Emmerson died of stab wounds to her neck, the court heard

A man stabbed his mother while having delusional thoughts about "people wanting to kill and torture" him, a court has heard.

Christine Emmerson, 71, was found dead at her home in Kirk Close, West Ashby, near Horncastle, on 3 August last year.

Shaun Emmerson, 51, was charged with murder, but was not fit to stand trial, Lincoln Crown Court was told. A jury will decide whether he carried out the act of killing his mother.

Jurors heard that Mr Emmerson, who was not in court because he suffers from a mental illness, called 999 and threatened to jump from a conservatory roof.

Christopher Donnellan KC, prosecuting, told the jury that Mrs Emmerson was stabbed multiple times with a kitchen knife and died of wounds to her neck.

A 999 call was played to the jury, who heard it was made by Mr Emmerson at about 12:30 BST, while he was on the roof.

Mr Emmerson told the call handler he had stabbed his mother with a knife in a "violent attack" and left her in the living room.

When asked what had happened, he told the call handler that "everyone" was "going to kill" him and made reference to the "department of justice", the court heard.

When the call handler asked why, he replied: "Because they've been talking about it for the last 20 years."

Mrs Emmerson was pronounced dead at the scene in West Ashby, police said

Body-worn camera footage was played in court showing Mr Emmerson standing on a roof of a single-story building, with blood on his hands and on a cuff of his white top.

The video went on to show Mr Emmerson being arrested and taken down, with him being heard to say: "Are you going to torture me?"

Giving evidence, Amy Spencer, a detention officer at Skegness Police Station, said Mr Emmerson had told her he "must be mental" to have done what he did.

She told jurors: "He said his mental health was bad. He suffered with depression and anxiety and that doctors wouldn't help him."

'Stopped medication'

A mental health professional, who was involved in assessing Mr Emmerson at the police station, told the jury he had admitted attacking his mother and blood was still on his hands.

When questioned by Clive Stockwell KC, for the defence, the mental health professional said Mr Emmerson "thought he could hear the neighbours through the wall saying they wanted to kill him".

"He indicated that it would be better if he wasn't here and people who commit this sort of crime should be executed. When I specifically asked what sort of crime, he said 'murder'," the mental health professional said.

A statement by Mrs Emmerson’s husband, David, was read out by the prosecution. He said his son had stopped taking his medication in the second week of July and had neither harmed himself nor spent time in a facility.

Mr Emmerson believed his son had been diagnosed with paranoia and not schizophrenia, the court heard.

The trial of the facts continues.

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