Man admits killing parents in Gloucestershire homes

A man who stabbed both his parents to death has been detained indefinitely in a psychiatric hospital.

William Warrington, 42, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his father Clive, 67, and mother Valerie, 73, by reason of diminished responsibility.

The divorced pair were found dead on 2 March at their respective homes in Gloucestershire.

Bristol Crown Court heard Warrington, of Cheltenham, had a long history of mental illness.

Warrington, of St George's Street, had denied murder but pleaded guilty to their manslaughter on Tuesday, after the lesser charge was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

He had previously been given a restraining order for stalking supermodel Kate Moss.

In April 2019, he was handed an indefinite restraining order preventing him from contacting Ms Moss, after magistrates heard he had left gifts at her Cotswolds home, including a cake and a First World War helmet.

The body of Mr Warrington, a builder, was found at Sherborne Place in Cheltenham. And his former wife was found dead at a property in Whiteshoots Hill, Bourton-on-the-Water.

At his sentencing hearing, the court heard Warrington had a history of subjecting his parents and other family members to "foul abuse".

The night before the killings, he absconded from medium-secure psychiatric unit Wotton Lawn Hospital, Gloucester, where he had been held since 17 February for attacking his housemate with a knife.

He had a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and psychosis.

Passing sentence, Mrs Justice Eady ordered Warrington be detained in a secure psychiatric hospital indefinitely under Sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act.

"There was significant evidence of abnormality of mental functioning, you were substantially misinterpreting innocuous events as having a special significance," she said.

Justice Eady remarked: "Your mental functioning provided an explanation for your actions in killing your parents."

A statement by his family read in court said: "William's mental health has visibly been in decline over the last decade - that accelerated due to a deficiency of support for him and the family".

Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, said in the months before, Warrington had been sending "extremely aggressive" messages to both parents.

Warrington, who the court also heard had a long history of cannabis abuse, had been living with his mother in the years prior to the attacks.

But he became increasingly violent towards her when he blamed her for failing to secure planning permission to develop a piece of land by her property.

After assaulting her in December 2020, Mrs Warrington moved her son into a multi-occupancy property she owned in Cheltenham, but he was later sectioned under the Mental Health Act for the attack on a housemate.

The court heard Warrington believed he was being sent messages telepathically by the government telling him to kill his parents, and believed figures including Vladimir Putin were sending him messages via YouTube clips.

Wotton Lawn had received 11 emails from members of Warrington's family about the risk he posed to them, including one from his mother sent on 1 March.

On the night of the killings, Warrington absconded from the facility by taxi, and went to his mother's house, the court heard.

Her body was found on the front lawn, and the defendant had driven over her when he left the scene in her car.

She had suffered significant injuries, including blunt force trauma to her head and body and eye injuries.

Neighbours of Clive Warrington called the police. They had heard banging from his home at around 06:15 GMT on 2 March, Ms Vigars said.

They heard Mr Warrington shouting for help and asking: "Why are you doing this?"

Ms Vigars added Warrington was seen leaving the house covered in blood, and was arrested a short time later walking along the road.

Mr Warrington was also found to have suffered extensive injuries, including multiple stab wounds.

In the statement read by Ms Vigars, the family said: "The pain of losing our parents is immeasurable and indelible, we will be carrying this grief for the rest of our lives."

They said his mental health had declined, adding: "As he lost his mind, we lost our brother and in a fatal tragedy we have lost our mum and dad too."

Justice Eady remarked she had not heard from representatives of the hospital as to the "adequacy of the arrangements" for supervising Warrington, but said the case "raises very serious concerns for those involved".

She noted while the police had been informed he had absconded, no attempt was made to contact the defendant's family.

Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust said in a statement after the case: "The deaths of Clive and Valerie Warrington were both shocking and tragic and we continue to offer our sincere condolences to everyone affected.

"As well as supporting Gloucestershire Police with their inquiry, we are undertaking our own investigation."

The outcome would be shared with NHS England and the Care Quality Commission, it said.

Following the sentencing, Gloucestershire Police said there would be a multi-agency domestic homicide review - a process which examines the involvement of different bodies, and whether the deaths could have been prevented.

Follow BBC West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]