Minffordd murder trial: Accused believed he was wiping out Covid

Tony Thomas denies murder and manslaughter at Mold Crown Court

A son accused of murdering his father believed he was working with a military unit to wipe out Covid by experimenting on pigs, a court heard.

Dr Andrew Shepherd said defendant Tony Thomas also wanted to talk to UK government medical chief, Prof Chris Whitty, about this.

Tony Thomas, of Minffordd, Gwynedd, denies murder and manslaughter at Mold Crown Court.

His father Dafydd Thomas, 65, died yards from his home, on 25 March 2021.

The 65-year-old was left with "catastrophic injuries" to his face.

His 45-year-old son accepts he inflicted unlawful violence on his father but denies killing him.

• Minffordd murder trial: Son stamped on his father, court told

• Gwynedd: Tony Thomas, 44, denies killing father, Dafydd, 65

Quizzed by Gordon Aspden KC, defending, Dr Shepherd, a forensic psychiatrist, said Tony Thomas told him he had "blown a fuse" before attacking his father, but couldn't say what happened after.

Dr Shepherd assessed Tony Thomas for the Crown Prosecution Service.

During an interview with the defendant, Mr Thomas described his herd of rare pigs, as his "life's work", and was experimenting with them to "eradicate disease," including coronavirus. 

The expert witness said Tony Thomas told him an ambulance was not called until 20 minutes after the attack.

During this time, Dr Shepherd said, Tony Thomas posited something else happened to Dafydd Thomas.

Dafydd Thomas died yards from his Minffordd home on March 25, 2021

He said he believed Tony Thomas, previously diagnosed as bipolar, had schizoaffective disorder when he attacked his father, and was suffering from psychosis.

Schizoaffective disorder shares similar symptoms to schizophrenia.

The court previously heard Dafydd Thomas was planning on getting some pigs.

On 25 March Dr Shepherd told the jury Tony Thomas had had an email about pigs being moved.

He wanted to speak to his father as he was worried about his herd being infected.

Tony Thomas, Dr Shepherd said, had told him he'd asked his father about the pigs and they had argued.

He believed his work was being jeopardised and told Dr Shepherd he became angry, and lost control and couldn't remember what happened after.

Accused believed his Covid work was real

Claiming something else must have happened to cause his father's death, Dr Shepherd said Tony Thomas implied one of siblings or his father's wife killed him.

Mr Aspden asked the jury to consider the partial defence of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 

Dr Shepherd agreed a partial defence of diminished responsibility was applicable.

He said the idea Tony Thomas was working to cure disease was implausible.

But he said there was no doubt Tony Thomas believed the work was real.

Tony Thomas was a paranoiac, Dr Shepherd said, who thought the world and events were centred around him.

He added that Tony Thomas had some insight into his mental health, recognising terms like bipolar and understanding he had been admitted to mental health hospitals several times.