A MAN has been handed a hospital order after admitting the manslaughter of his stepfather in what the judge described as a “tragic case”.

Alistair Throup, 47, appeared before Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for the “horrific attack”.

Throup, of Oakland Street, Silsden, initially pleaded not guilty to murdering Phillip Slater in September last year.

However in November, he entered a guilty plea to the alternative charge of manslaughter by way of diminished responsibility.

Simon Waley, for the prosecution, said the Crown was satisfied that was the appropriate plea to accept.

Mr Waley said the defendant stabbed 73-year-old Mr Slater “a number of times” on the morning of September 8 last year.

He said Throup had lived with his mother, Cathrine Slater, and Phillip Slater, who had been diagnosed with early onset dementia, for many years but tensions had recently developed between the two men as a result of the defendant’s mental health issues.

Throup had required periods of time in hospital for treatment for his mental health difficulties, including in February and April last year.

On September 2, he suffered a "hyper episode" where he smashed a window, caused other damage to the house and tried to use a drill to get into his mother and stepfather’s bedroom. Throup was eventually arrested and cautioned for possession of a combat knife and Mr Waley told the court that his mother expressed the view that her son appeared to have an “obsession” with knives and weaponry.

However, he said she was anxious to point out there were no previous occasions where she had been threatened by him.

On September 4, Throup had a further manic episode while in a GP surgery.

Four days later, on the morning of the stabbing, Mrs Slater was due to attend a hospital appointment which her husband was going to accompany her to.

Mr Waley said Throup was expressing some anxiety and there was a lack of clarity over the following events.

He told the court Mrs Slater remembered falling down the stairs, but did not know if she was pushed. She could recall falling and that Mr Slater had also fallen over.

Mr Waley said it was clear from what happened next, that the incident was in context of an attack by the defendant, because Mrs Slater went to the kitchen to make a 999 call. 

The defendant went down and told her to call an ambulance before going outside. He was arrested and was in possession of a curved knife which was 12cm long.

Mr Slater was found lying on his back on a small landing half way up the stairs and bleeding heavily from gashes to his neck and leg. Multiple stab wounds were found during a post mortem examination.

Mr Waley said Throup, who has no previous convictions, gave mixed and confused answers when interviewed.

In discussion of Mrs Slater’s victim impact statement, Mr Waley alluded to the defendant’s medication at the time and said Mrs Slater felt she had lost both her husband and her son.

Edward Slater, on behalf of Mr Slater’s family, said they had suffered sleepless nights, anxiety, stress and panic and while they accepted Throup had mental health issues, they feel he killed an “innocent, defenceless old man” in a “horrific and violent attack”.

Sentencing Throup, Recorder of Bradford Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC said the defendant had been seriously unwell for many years and his illness had been affected by him taking, or experimenting, with cannabis and legal highs.

He said there had also been a “catastrophic” misunderstanding about medication and said it would fall to the coroner to address any questions as to whether police or mental health services could have prevented what happened.

Throup will be detained in the medium secure Stockton Hall Hospital, York.

MORE TOP STORIES

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, warned him he would not be released until senior doctors, the Mental Health Review Tribunal and other agencies were satisfied he was safe and that “may take some time”.

Family members were in court for Throup’s sentencing and Judge Durham Hall said: “The best outcome would be to turn back the clock, but unfortunately I cannot do that.”