Her dad was stabbed to death and she fears she'll 'never know the truth'

The daughter of an ex-police officer who was stabbed to death in his own bed "worries she will never know the truth".

Andrew McDiarmid, a former detective inspector who served Merseyside Police for 30 years, died aged 64 after being knifed 17 times inside the family home on Oldfield Way in Heswall, Wirral. His wife's son Benjamin Moglione had been accused of his stepdad's murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser count of manslaughter midway through a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, having been suffering from postictal psychosis as a result of an epileptic seizure at the time of the incident.

The now 23-year-old returned to the same court to be sentenced this week and was handed an indefinite hospital order. This means the university student will receive treatment as an inpatient until the Secretary of State deems it appropriate for him to be discharged.

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Statements were read out to the court on behalf of Mr McDiarmid's son and daughter during the hearing. The latter, primary school teacher Rebecca McDiarmid, said: "My life as I knew it ended when I was told my dad had been murdered.

"He will never see his grandchildren. He will never give me the honour of walking me down the aisle.

"I often still go to message my dad. For a tiny split second he is alive, then I remember he is gone and he is never coming back.

"All that hope and potential has been taken from us. The last few years has destroyed me.

"I feel the joy has gone from my life. The events and hobbies that used to excite me just seem pointless.

"We have had two years of limbo. I worry I will never know the truth and suspect that is something I will have to live with."

Son Alexander McDiarmid, whose wife was eight months pregnant at the time of his dad's death, meanwhile said in his statement: "I think about my father every single day. It will take years of help to accept the loss of my father.

"You have destroyed what should have been the past few years of my life. Both of my daughters have been deprived of the fantastic role model who should have been a part of their lives.

"My father will not see my daughters walk down the aisle. It saddens me to think of what we have all missed out on.

"He was my best friend. I struggle to comprehend how you had his undivided love and care and you did what you did.

"During the trial, I did not see any sense of remorse or sadness. I have not received any apology.

"I feel so much hatred and anger towards you, but I don't think I can take this heavy load so I have to let go. I want you to know that I forgive you.

"Get better. Love you."

Gordon Cole KC previously told a jury of eight men and four women during the prosecution's opening in March that Moglione's mum Alison had called 999 at around 8.45pm on January 24 2022 and reported that her son had stabbed her husband. Emergency services subsequently attended the address and found Mr McDiarmid lying gravely wounded on top of the bed in the couple's bedroom.

He was said to have "sustained some 17 wounds to his body", 13 being stab wounds and "some described as incised wounds". Mr Cole told the court that a number of these injuries had been "inflicted with severe force".

Moglione was arrested at the scene, and has remained in hospital since. The prosecution described how all three parties had been at home on the evening in question, with the defendant - who was represented by Anne Whyte KC - having recently "come out of a period of isolation in his bedroom" due to covid.

Mr McDiarmid meanwhile was self-isolating in his room after testing positive. At around 8pm, Moglione "told his mum that he was going to take his medication before going to bed".

Around half an hour later, Ms Moglione went to shower in the upstairs bathroom. An internal CCTV camera which was situated on a table in the hallway, covering the area of the front door, then showed her son walking downstairs from his bedroom in his dressing gown and slippers before collecting a knife from a magnetic block on the wall of the kitchen.

He returned upstairs clutching the weapon in his right hand before entering Mr McDiarmid's room. Mr Cole said that "screams, groans and heavy breathing" could then be heard on the footage.

Moglione - who appeared in the dock wearing a dark grey suit alongside three members of hospital staff - subsequently entered the bathroom where his mum had been showering in order "to wash himself of blood stains" before the footage showed her walking downstairs with a towel wrapped around her, followed by her son. The bloodstained knife was later recovered from on top of the bed in the master bedroom.

Sentencing on Thursday afternoon, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC said: "I will say at the outset that the sentence I am about to pass on you will result in you being detained in a secure hospital for the foreseeable future. How long you are detained will depend on your response to treatment, the expert views of the medical team supervising you and the extent to which you are a continuing danger to the public.

"You brutally attacked and killed your stepfather Andrew McDiarmid while he was resting in bed while suffering from the effects of covid. There was no warning to this attack and nothing had happened to provoke it.

"You simply armed yourself with a large kitchen knife, went to the bedroom and stabbed him multiple times when he was completely defenceless. Your mother was in the shower at the time and emerged to be confronted with this unfolding nightmare.

"You stabbed your victim at least 13 times with a severe degree of force, with catastrophic damage to the heart. As a consequence of what you have done, you not only took the life of Andrew McDiarmid but have also irreparably devastated the lives of so many others who have lost a precious loved one.

"It is clear that Mr McDiarmid was a kind, considerate and supportive father, stepfather and husband. He had enjoyed a successful career as a police officer and was looking forward to continuing his retirement when you cut his life short.

"There was never any doubt that you were the person responsible for this appalling crime. From an early stage, it became clear that the central issue would relate to whether, at the time of committing this offence, you were suffering from severe symptoms of mental disorder and, if so, what part they played in what you did.

"You are clearly an intelligent young man. There is no evidence to suggest that the relationship between the two of you was anything other than entirely positive.

"It seems that your epilepsy was not well controlled. By the time of the fatal attack, you were suffering clusters of seizures and a treatment regime that was not working.

"The prosecution is now satisfied that the evidence demonstrates that your ability to understand the nature of your conduct, to form a rational judgement or exercise self control was substantially impaired. If that were not the case, you would have continued to face a count of murder.

"All the medical experts agreed that, at the time of the attack, you were likely suffering from postictal psychosis. This is a condition which affects some epilepsy sufferers and is a severe mental condition in and of itself.

"It is characterised by a disconnection from reality and typically follows a cluster of epileptic seizures, and people experiencing such an episode can behave violently towards others. All of the experts agreed that the symptoms of your postictal psychosis included fluctuating combinations of thought disorder, auditory and visual hallucinations, delusions, paranoia and mood change including mania affecting reason, memory and understanding."

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