Mum's son fatally stabbed her new husband 17 times

A mother, whose sole child savagely murdered her spouse, implored a judge to "return my son to me".

Andrew McDiarmid, an ex-detective inspector with 30 years of service in Merseyside Police, was 64 when he was stabbed 17 times at their home on Oldfield Way in Heswall, Wirral. His stepson Benjamin Moglione faced murder charges but admitted to the lesser charge of manslaughter during his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, due to suffering from postictal psychosis following an epileptic seizure at the time.

The 23 year old was back in court for sentencing and received an indefinite hospital order, meaning he will be treated as an inpatient until considered safe for release by the Secretary of State.

READ MORE: Wales facing brutal cuts whether Labour or Tories win the next election

READ MORE: Conservative Senedd Member investigated for betting on July General Election date

During the hearing, his mother Alison Moglione delivered a statement expressing the "indescribable pain and suffering" caused by the "tragic circumstances" that led to her husband's death, her son's battle for life, and the devastation of their family's lives. She also paid tribute to Mr McDiarmid, calling him a "wonderful husband and stepfather who was loved and cherished", and with whom she had "lived happily for 17 years".

Ms Moglione shared her heart-wrenching belief: "I firmly believe if this hadn't happened, another horrific outcome would have been I would have lost my son permanently. Ben was a hard working, honest young man who worked tirelessly to get his degree while managing a challenging health condition.", reports the Liverpool Echo.

She continued with the profound impact of the tragedy on her family: "He, like the rest of the family, will suffer for many years to come with the most unimaginable tragedy that has unfolded. I ask you to return my son to me so I can start to heal and rebuild."

Emphasising the nature of the case, she stated: "This is not a criminal case. It's a medical negligence case."

Struggling to understand the events, she expressed: "It's difficult to comprehend how this has happened to such a loyal, loving family man. I'm still no clearer why this tragedy happened."

Describing her personal loss, Ms Moglione said: "I'm left without the one person I want to grow old with and who made my life complete. My husband has lost the retirement he worked so hard to enjoy, having served the community and been an incredible husband, stepfather and family man."

Determined to seek answers, she declared: "I know he would want to get to the bottom of why this happened. I will never rest until this is dealt with openly and fully transparently."

Earlier in court, Gordon Cole KC had informed the jury, consisting of eight men and four women, about the distressing events leading up to the incident: Alison Moglione, Ben's mother, had dialled 999 at approximately 8.45pm on January 24, 2022, reporting that her son had stabbed her husband. When emergency services arrived at the scene, they discovered Mr McDiarmid critically injured on the bed in the master bedroom.

The court heard that the victim had "sustained some 17 wounds to his body", with 13 being stab wounds and others described as incised wounds. The prosecutor, Mr Cole, informed the court that many of these injuries were inflicted with severe force.

Moglione was apprehended at the scene and has been hospitalised ever since. The prosecution outlined how all three individuals were at home on the night in question, with Moglione - represented by Anne Whyte KC - having recently emerged from a period of isolation in his bedroom due to Covid-19.

Meanwhile, Mr McDiarmid was self-isolating in his room after testing positive for the virus. At around 8pm, Moglione informed his mother that he was going to take his medication before retiring for the night.

Approximately half an hour later, Ms Moglione went upstairs to shower. An internal CCTV camera positioned on a table in the hallway, which covered the area of the front door, then captured her son descending the stairs from his bedroom in his dressing gown and slippers, before retrieving a knife from a magnetic block on the kitchen wall.

He then ascended the stairs again, clutching the weapon in his right hand, and entered Mr McDiarmid's room. According to Mr Cole, the footage then picked up the sounds of screams, groans and heavy breathing.

In his court appearance on Thursday, Moglione - clad in a sombre grey suit and flanked by three hospital workers - was found to have gone into the bathroom where his mother had been bathing in order "to wash himself of blood stains". The video evidence later showed his mother descending the stairs wrapped in a towel, closely followed by her son.

Authorities later recovered the knife bearing the evidence of the brutal attack from atop the bed in the master bedroom.

In handing down the sentencing that afternoon, Liverpool's Honourable Recorder, Judge Andrew Menary KC, declared: "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."