Peterborough man confessed he killed carer father, jury hears

Robert Merritt was stabbed 16 times, jurors heard

A man with a schizophrenic illness stabbed his carer father 16 times in a "brutal" attack and called police to confess the killing, a court has heard.

Robert Merritt, 60, died at the home he shared with his son Adam Merritt, 33, in Lythemere, Orton Malborne, Peterborough, in June last year.

Jurors heard Adam Merritt rang 999 and said he had stabbed his father.

The Peterborough Crown Court jury has been asked to determine whether Adam Merritt did the act or not.

The defendant, who has not been attending proceedings, was not fit to face trial or plead.

Prosecutor Andrew Jackson said that Adam Merritt had been diagnosed with a schizophrenic illness in his late teens which "meant he needed some level of care and it was his father Robert who took on that role".

'Hear him confess'

Their house had just been sold and the pair were due to move to Cumbria the following week, jurors heard.

Mr Jackson said that at 00:53 BST on 29 June "the defendant made a telephone call to the police" and that jurors would "hear him confess to having killed his father".

The prosecutor said Adam Merritt told them "that he'd put the knife which he'd used in the kitchen sink".

The court heard no-one else was present when his father was killed, the precise timing of which could not be determined.

Mr Jackson said Adam Merritt "voluntarily admitted he'd lost his temper with his father".

Robert Merritt was declared dead at the scene and Mr Jackson said the injuries to his chest, neck and abdomen were the "most significant of all".

The jury heard Adam Merritt had had stopped taking his anti-psychotic medication two weeks earlier, but did take a dose of medicine on the day before the killing.

The trial continues.

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