Ruabon: Kyle Ellis detained for killing his grandmother

A man has been sent to a psychiatric hospital indefinitely after admitting manslaughter of his grandmother, whose body was found after a house fire.

Kyle Ellis denied murder on 11 February last year, and the prosecution accepted diminished responsibility.

Mold Crown Court was told that Ellis, of New Hall Road, Ruabon, Wrexham, had paranoid schizophrenia, and had been "profoundly mentally unwell."

He strangled and stabbed 69-year-old Susan Hannaby before starting the fire.

The court heard Ellis had lived with Mrs Hannaby and his grandfather, who had died in 2020, for about 10 years. 

A statement read in court from his mother Sharon said she was "glad Kyle is getting the treatment he needs… we talk… and that gives me some comfort".

Sentencing him, Judge Rhys Rowlands said Mrs Hannaby had lost her life in a "sustained and brutal attack".

But he said it was clear Ellis would not have committed the "dreadful crime" if it had not been for his mental illness at the time, which had not at that time been diagnosed, "let alone treated".  

Giving some background to the lead-up to Mrs Hannaby's death, Judge Rowlands said Ellis's grandparents had "spoiled him rotten" after he moved in with them when he was 14.  

His grandmother, who suffered from ill health, had become more dependent on him after his grandfather's death, and the relationship was "strained at times".   

He described how Ellis had been signed off from work with stress, his relationship with his girlfriend had broken down, and in the days leading up to the fatal attack, he began displaying behaviour which was causing concern to friends and family.

He sent disturbing text messages, disclosing abuse he said had happened when he was a child.  

He added there had been no motive for the killing, but that "the psychosis was the reason".