A 68-year-old man who attacked his older sister with a hammer before calling the police has been handed a hospital order due to suffering from a ‘mental disorder’
An old man told police officers “I’ve killed my sister” on the phone after attacking his sibling with a hammer, a court heard.
Richard Law, 68, has been given a hospital order after admitting causing the death of his 70-year-old sister, Judith Law. Law, from Newton Poppleford in Devon, was sentenced at Exeter Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
The court heard that on January 17, Law called the police to an address on Lark Rise, telling the call handler that he had killed his sister. Officers found Judith Law upstairs with a serious head injury – and she was pronounced dead at the scene. During the call, Law said: “I’ve killed my sister, so I need you to come.”
Jo Martin KC, for the prosecution, said Law had told the police there had been a “big build up from Christmas Day” between the siblings, but that there had been no big argument. Law had told psychiatrists that he and his sister were suicidal, the court heard.
Martin said: “He said, ‘I kept hitting her to make sure because I didn’t want to leave her. She wanted to die, the same as I did’.”
The siblings lived together in their late parents’ house, but ate and shopped separately. While they were not well known to their neighbours, “what did seem to be known of the two of them was they didn’t have a particularly good sibling relationship”, Martin said.
After his arrest, Law made comments to officers in which he confirmed that his mental health had gone into decline since Christmas Day. He said he intended to take his own life after killing Judith, but couldn’t go through with it.
Judge Anna Richardson sentenced Law to a hospital order, under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act, with a section 41 restriction. He will continue to be detained in the secure hospital where he has been since January.
Richardson told Law: “I have concluded that the protection of the public is not best served by passing a penal sentence which would be of relatively short duration.”
She said that Law seemed “genuinely remorseful” and added: “I am satisfied that you are suffering from a mental disorder of a nature and degree which makes it appropriate for you to be detained in hospital for medical treatment.”
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Guy Biggar, from Devon and Cornwall Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “The family, friends and neighbours of Judith have endured a tragic loss in exceptionally sad circumstances.
“I would like to thank them for their support throughout this investigation and my thoughts, and those of the entire investigation team, are with them at this time.”