Killer with schizophrenia loses claim over Bournemouth killing

Ecila Henderson chased her mother from her flat and stabbed her to death

A woman with paranoid schizophrenia who killed her mother has lost a High Court claim against her former NHS carers.

Ecila Henderson stabbed 69-year-old Rosemary Armstrong 22 times when her mother came to visit her at her flat in Pokesdown, Bournemouth, in August 2010.

Henderson, who is detained in a mental health unit, claimed more than £300,000 from the trust, saying the death arose from inadequate care.

Her barrister said he hoped to appeal against the ruling.

Bloodstained knife

Following the stabbing, Henderson was disarmed by a police officer after being spotted carrying a bloodstained knife in the street.

An independent inquiry later criticised the care she received from her health trust.

The inquiry said a health worker had reported Henderson's condition had deteriorated before the killing, but steps to recall her to inpatient care were inadequate.

Henderson was later convicted of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

She sued Dorset Healthcare University Foundation Trust for a range of losses, including her inheritance from her mother and her time incarcerated.

Legal firm DAC Beachcroft, defending the trust, said Henderson, now aged 45, was seeking to overturn a legal principle which prohibits a person from recovering damages for the consequences of their crimes.

It said it successfully argued that the principle, known as illegality, still applied where claimants had any degree of criminal responsibility in the case.