Man killed his own mum by stabbing her '20 times' in Great Baddow before walking the street with her blood on his hands

An Essex man claimed he stabbed his own mother to death 20 times before walking around the street with his hands covered in her blood. Sebastian Compton suffered an "episode of psychosis" months after he stopped taking an anti-psychotic drug which kept him stable for more than 16 years.

47-year-old Compton was found wandering in a hoodie, slippers and pyjamas in Great Baddow on February 9 this year with his hands covered in blood and "appearing distressed". A couple spotted him at around 2.30pm and, concerned for his health, called 999. Paramedics arrived and asked Compton if he was ok, to which he replied "not really, I've just killed my mum" and that he stabbed her 20 times.

Police officers also arrived and both officers and paramedics attended Compton's flat in Readers Court where they found Michele Romano, Compton's mother, on the floor and covered in blood, with "considerable" blood spread around the room. Tragically, there was nothing that could be done for her and Ms Romano was declared dead at the scene.

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She had suffered stab wounds to the face, torso, arms and chest, inflicting catastrophic damage to her. Compton, who later admitted manslaughter via diminished responsibility, said to officers he "wanted to talk to someone" to "get to grips with what he had done" and repeatedly asked to be taken to a mental health unit, Chelmsford Crown Court heard today (November 21) at Compton's sentencing hearing.

Prosecuting, Andrew Jackson said Compton told police initially he had taken "s*** loads" of the drug LSD, but later reversed this position claiming he'd taken no drugs and "said something silly". Blood tests would later reveal no drugs at all in Compton's system.

Mr Jackson said: "He had extremely erratic behaviour in custody, he attacked one of the observing police officers. He claimed his mother had been using two fruit blenders and that annoyed him, and said he stabbed her. She apparently had her arms around him and said she 'hated him'.

"The account later changed and he said he heard the voice of the woman who lived upstairs telling him, he thought, to get a knife. But he wasn't sure and was confused. He said 'it was not me, it was psychosis and an act of God, I don't know why I did it, it's not good'."

Mr Jackson told the court that for a period of around 16 years Compton had been taking the anti-psychotic drug clozapine "without incident", but Compton stated he stopped taking the drug at the end of 2023 because he "felt well" and "didn't like taking tablets". He continued: "It appears it was the defendant's own decision to stop taking the anti-psychotic drug. Doctors said he had experienced acute psychosis because he had not been taking his anti-psychotic medication. That was the explanation for the killing."

Mr Jackson argued that Compton maintained a "degree of culpability" for the killing as a result of his decision to stop taking medication. Psychiatrist Dr Raman Deo told the court he and another doctor had come to the conclusion that the decision to stop taking anti-psychotic medication by Compton, who they say has paranoid schizophrenia, led to a severe degredation in his mental state, which could have been initially begun by him beginning to smoke cigarettes which affects the blood levels of the drug.

Dr Deo stated since being sectioned in a secure hospital, Compton had been re-introduced to medication he had made "relative improvement" and argued a hospital order would be the most suitable sentence for him.

'The toll of losing Michele is unbearable'

In a victim impact statement read to the court by Mr Jackson, Michele Romano's husband Thierry Romano said he felt there had been "failures" in the handling of his steps-son's care, saying the impact of losing his wife had been "unbearable". Mr Jackson said: "He speaks of the frustration, the what ifs; he makes the point that the tragedy could have been so easily prevented. He refers to missed opportunities and failures."

Mr Romano stated Compton had been walking in the middle of the night before the killing to be admitted to hospital as "a cry for help" before waiting in A&E for hours and then leaving. The court heard hospital staff informed the police about Compton leaving but "no action was taken" according ro Mr Romano.

His statement added: "A simple call, an effort to locate him or visit to his house would have prevented this tragedy. Instead Mr Compton went back to the flat, likely drank a few beers and went to bed before Michelle arrived and unknowingly walked into the death trap.

"Why is it allowed to happen? Why wasn't the mental health team monitoring him and try to prevent this from happening? Those are the questions I desperately need answers to but will probably never get and be left with the unbearble consequences that followed."

As she sentenced Compton to an indefinite hospital order, Judge Mary Loram KC said the impact on Mr Romano "cannot be described by her". She said: "He is haunted by the inevitable what ifs, and it's a tragedy that there is nothing this court can do to give him the answers he wants." The judge said it was a credit to Mr Romano that he did not blame Compton for the death of his wife.