Mum's horror as epileptic son kills stepdad while in 'seizure state'

A mum spoke of her 'complete and utter shock' after she realised her son had killed his stepfather - a man he'd loved and regarded as his biological dad.

The ex-Sheffield University student pleaded guilty in court to the manslaughter of his mum's long-term partner Andrew McDiarmid on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Ben Moglione, 23, stabbed Andrew, 64, at least 17 times at their home in Heswall, the Wirral, while in a psychotic state brought about by his epilepsy. He was today given an indefinite hospital order, reports the Mirror.

In March, Liverpool Crown Court heard how Moglione had been suffering from postictal psychosis at the time of Andrew's death on January 24, 2022 - a condition which can occur following a cluster of seizures.

Moglione's mum, Alison, had previously told the court how she'd been washing her hair at the time of the attack, and, while applying shampoo at around 8:30 pm, suddenly 'heard a really unusual sound, not like a scream, like a sound of air, a very loud exhalation of air'.

Just moments after Alison, 56, heard the strange noise, her son burst into the room, his hands covered in blood. At first, she feared her son had cut his wrists, but after checking over his arms determined this was not the case.

Alison, a programme lead in children's services at Liverpool City Council, recalled: "He said, 'You can start again'. He said it in a strange way. I thought, 'Oh my God'. I started running to my bedroom and I saw Andy on our bed. There was blood and I could tell by his face that he had gone.

"I knew I could not do anything so I ran downstairs. I dialled 999 for an ambulance and the police. In the meantime, Ben came down saying, 'Mum don't ring the police'."

However, Alison then told Moglione that she had no choice and would have to do so.

She explained that she'd taken the knife away from her son as she 'thought he was going to hurt himself'. In the kitchen of their home, Moglione took another knife from the same block, holding it to his side before Alison managed to calm him down.

Moglione was arrested that evening at the family home on Oldfield Way, and has since been held in Clock View Hospital in Walton. Alison said: "I don't think he knew what he had done. I was in complete and utter shock."

Audio recorded on CCTV footage showed how the killing unfolded in the house, with Moglione entering the bedroom where retired detective Andrew had been isolating after testing positive for Covid.

The boy could be heard asking Andrew: "Hello. Are you alright?", to which his stepfather replied: "Yeah. Are you?" Moglione then said "No, not really' before 'screams, groans and heavy breathing' were captured on the footage.

The attack took place after Moglione had watched a BBC 's Panorama episode about knife crime.

A subsequent post-mortem probe discovered that Andrew had 'sustained some 17 wounds to his body' during the attack, 13 of which included stab wounds and 'some incised wounds'. A number of his injuries had been 'inflicted with severe force'.

Alison told detectives: "To me, at that point [Moglione] was not there. When it was over, the episode, he was not there. He wasn't conversing. He hadn’t done it in a sane mind. It wasn’t my son who was doing that. He was very, very ill. He hasn't premeditated that. He was in a seizure state. I don't know if he's had a seizure, but that was not my son. That was not my normal son.

"This is a lovely young man who’s never harmed a fly. How would we see this coming? It's a tragedy. I've lost my son and I've lost my husband. This position is like a nightmare. I need to wake up, but it's real."

It was at the same court today that he was handed a section 37/41 hospital order which means he will receive treatment as an inpatient until the Secretary of State deems him well enough to be discharged.

As reported by the Liverpool Echo, Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC told him: "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.

"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."

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