Suzanne Brown killing: 'Frenzied' stabbing killer hospitalised

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Suzanne BrownImage source, Essex Police
Image caption,

Suzanne Brown died in December 2017 when she was stabbed 173 times

A man who killed his partner in a "frenzied attack" where she was stabbed 173 times has been given an indeterminate hospital order.

Jake Neate, 37, attacked Suzanne Brown, 34, on 15 December 2017 at their flat in Braintree, Essex.

Mr Neate, a paranoid schizophrenic, was found unfit to stand trial at Chelmsford Crown Court but a trial of facts ruled he killed Ms Brown.

Judge Charles Gratwicke said Mr Neate posed a "serious risk" to the public.

Ms Brown's sister, Rebecca Foskett, told the court their family had been devastated by the killing.

She said: "I ask the court to put in place measures so that no other family has to go through what we have gone through."

The trial heard Mr Neate, who had been in a relationship with Ms Brown for more than 10 years, had been taken off anti-psychotic medication in the October before the attack.

According to a statement from his mother, this caused his health to deteriorate.

When police responded to a warning from her on the day of the murder, they discovered Ms Brown's body at the flat the couple shared in Mountbatten Court.

Mr Neate, who was wearing only his boxer shorts and socks, was covered in blood and told officers he had killed her.

A trial of facts is held in cases where a defendant is not fit to enter a plea.

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