Colchester triple killing was 'calculated and devastating'

Jason and Danny Gibson and Richard Booth all died of stab wounds

A man stabbed three men to death in a "calculated and devastating" attack, a court was told.

Tom Saunders admitted killing Danny Gibson, 35, his brother Jason Gibson, 31, and Richard Booth, 35, in Colchester, on 5 October 2019.

Saunders, who had paranoid schizophrenia, denied murder but pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter and is being sentenced.

Prosecutors accepted the pleas on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that Saunders, 35, also admitted having an offensive weapon in a public place.

The brothers were likely killed after letting Saunders into their flat in Wellesley Road in the Essex town.

Mr Booth, a friend of the family, had been stabbed at least 21 times, which was picked up on a recording from his own dashcam deemed too graphic to be played in court.

Brothers Danny and Jason Gibson were found in a home in Wellesley Road, while Richard Booth was found in a vehicle nearby

Saunders had been refusing help and medication for his mental illness in the period leading up to the killings, prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said.

He believed the brothers, who he was related to, would "team up" against him and he also began to view Mr Booth as an adversary, the court heard.

The court was told he then produced two "large" knives at a family gathering in the hours before the killings before making his way to the scene.

Prosecutors said Saunders returned home later in the evening covered in blood claiming he "made sure [he] finished them off," prompting his family to call the police.

Mr Khalil said: "This was, we say, calculated and devastating in the effect of his approach - it is striking and remarkable that he managed to kill three men in such a brutal manner."

The sentencing hearing is expected to last about three days.