Petersfield killer blamed demons for mum’s death, trial told

Neighbours in the flat above later saw the defendant “clambering up the stairs like something out of a horror film”, the prosecutor said.

“He was covered head to toe in red… carrying a bottle of brandy,” Ms Jones told the jury.

“The defendant was repeating: ‘I’ve killed her, I’ve killed her,’ as he came up the stairs.”

He had already phoned 999, telling an operator variously that his mother had begged him to do it or that demons were responsible, the barrister said.

Anarlyn Jones repeated the claims to police at the scene, blaming the fictional monster Rake, she added.

The barrister said: “He may well have had a deeply challenging and difficult life.

“But the explanation for what happened that day is anger towards his mother and a choice to consume a significant amount of alcohol to unleash that rage.”

Police found no alcohol was found in the victim’s blood or urine, but the tests were carried out more than 20 hours later, the prosecutor told the jury.

She said the defendant was in the care of a community mental health team and was using anti-psychotic medication at the time of the killing, but was not expected to call psychiatric evidence in his defence.

The trial continues.