Man who stabbed mum to death will remain a 'danger until the end' of his days

A man who "brutally" stabbed his mother to death as she fled screaming from their Leicestershire home will remain a danger "until the end" of his days, a judge has ruled. Schizophrenic Gregor Bauld had grabbed a kitchen knife and chased after Tina Bauld who he would later describe to police as a paedophile and an alien.

Bauld was found to be competent to stand trial for murder at Leicester Crown Court but he was found not guilty of murder due to his mental state. He had previously pleaded guilty to Tina's manslaughter.

During the two-week trial in October, the jury saw CCTV of Bauld chasing 55-year-old Tina out of their home in Burbage's The Coppice, near Hinckley, and stabbing her multiple times. She died in the arms of her husband Tom.

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Prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC, told the trial that Bauld, who used LSD, ketamine and other drugs, had enjoyed a "comfortable and happy childhood with two loving parents" before starting to smoke cannabis at around the age of 13. That had led to "psychotic behaviour", he said.

Mr Aspden said that later in his life Bauld, who is now 23, but was 22 at the time of the killing, had a "developing antipathy and dislike of his mother". After his arrest, Bauld told Leicestershire Police officers "that's justice" and described his mother as a "paedophile", which Mr Aspden said was not true.

A blood test showed signs of LSD, ketamine, cannabis and a prescription sedative. Bauld, who has been detained at a secure hospital since the incident, which happened on Sunday, March 3, was back at the crown court for sentencing today (Friday, November 8).

Judge Timothy Spencer KC made a 'hybrid order', jailing Bauld for life with a minimum term of 13 years and eight months in custody, meaning Bauld will stay in a secure hospital, with security similar to a prison. If clinicians decided he has recovered and no longer needed treatment he could be transferred to a prison until the minimum term is up. Once the minimum term is over, he can only be released from prison if a parole board believes he's safe for release.

Mr Aspden told the sentencing hearing the judge would have to look at how Bauld's own decision to take drugs was responsible for what happened. But Mary Prior KC, representing Bauld, said her client had a history of mental health difficulties which arose "whether he had taken drugs or not". She said an earlier diagnosis of drug-induced pyschosis was not accurate.

She said: "This is a man who was very seriously mentally ill. He believed, genuinely, that the world was at war- with two opposing tribes - and the woman he had most loved all his life had become the leader of one of those tribes and was likely to kill the world."

She said her client was "having to deal with voices in his head for hours at a time". She said: "His level of schizophrenia remains very, very high."

Ms Prior said Bauld remained a danger to others - even to other prisoners if he was sent to jail. She said: "He's a risk of homicide even when sedated."

Dr Gareth Garrett, who had been a defence witness in the trial, told the court a hospital order rather than a prison sentence would provide better protection for the public. He said: "Schizophrenia is a life-long condition and from a clinical and risk-management point of view he will therefore be at risk of relapses into psychosis."

He said a prison sentence would not lead to as much treatment since probation officers - rather than clinicians - would be in charge of his risk management. He added that in prison Bauld's condition would likely get worse. He said that after "months of intense treatment" the symptoms remained and were likely to remain. He said his main aim was to reduce the amount Bauld was being distressed by his condition.

Handing down the sentence, the judge said the crime was "characterised by your voluntary ingestion of drugs of abuse", adding that drug use had "clearly contributed" to his psychotic episodes. He said: "Whilst at a diminished level, you were responsibible for killing your mother."

He added: "This killing was awful beyond imagination. It was a brutal, shocking taking of a life. You chased your mother out of your home, stabbed her twice in the driveway, pursued her into the road and stabbed out four times more.

"Your mother died in the road outside your house with your father next to her as life expired, with you watching on. All of this was recorded on various CCTV systems and the jury and I watched the resultant footage. The impact of this killing is incalcuable.

"The impact was obvious throughout the trial. Everyone in the court room felt the anguish as your father related how you killed his wife. You'll constitute a danger until the end of your days both to yourself and to other people."