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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Sophie Corcoran & Ryan Merrifield

Son stabbed his parents 282 times then sat on doorstep to wait for police

A couple were stabbed over 200 times in a frenzied attack by their own son who then waited on the doorstep for the police.

John and Beverley Taylor died four days before Christmas in 2021 following the assault by David Taylor.

The 37-year-old used three knives to kill his parents at their home in Skipton, North Yorkshire.

He had been suffering from audio hallucinations and told medical professionals he was hearing "voices" telling him to murder people to save his family from "suffering for eternity", Bradford Crown Court heard today.

It was said Taylor had suffered with his mental health for "many years".

After spending time in hospital earlier in the year he was discharged back to his GP but in August asked for a referral for help as he was "struggling".

He had described the situation as "urgent" and the court heard he had self-reduced his medication.

Taylor was referred to the adult mental health service the next day and diagnosed with schizophrenia and paranoid psychosis.

John and Beverley Taylor were stabbed over 200 times (Yorkshire Live/MEN MEDIA)

Prosecutor, Jonathan Sandiford, said in the months before the killings, Taylor was difficult to get hold of and failed to attend appointments, reports Yorkshire Live.

The court heard that the day before the attack, on December 20, 2021, Taylor had seen a doctor.

He had told them about the hallucinations and was given a prescription for medication, but it was not in stock at two pharmacists he had visited.

Mr Sandiford added that unused medication was found in Taylor's bedroom following his arrest.

Outlining the details of December 21, Mr Sandiford said Taylor was living with his parents, who were both 66, in a semi-detached house.

He said the couple's daughter-in-law had spoken to Mrs Taylor on a video call just before 7am that morning.

Minutes later a neighbour had heard a female voice "screaming".

The prosecutor said: "He could make out a few words which were something like 'don't come near me' or 'stay away from me'.

"At around 7.30am, he [David] made a 999 call to the police.

"The defendant told the call handler he had just killed his parents by stabbing them to death.

"He repeatedly swore - not at the call handler but he clearly appreciated what he had done. He was found to have appreciated the enormity of his actions and the implications on him.

"He agreed to go out onto the front step to wait for police and put the knives in the house away from him."

The court heard Taylor was waiting for police on the front doorstep of the house when they arrived nine minutes later.

He was not fit to be interviewed but at a later court hearing pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

In March, Taylor was taken to Rampton Hospital - a psychiatric hospital.

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard how "protective" mother Mrs Taylor had been physically attacked by her son in October 2021.

Taylor was sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on Friday (MEN MEDIA)

A friend had also overheard Taylor throwing things at his mother over the phone in August the same year.

Giving evidence, a Dr King told the court he believed Taylor should not be sentenced to spend time in a prison environment due to the management of "someone as dangerous as he can be".

He said: "It can take quite a while for problems to be picked up."

In his report, the doctor said: "Therefore I think it is likely Mr Taylor will kill again if he is returned to prison."

The court was told Mrs Taylor had suffered 95 sharp force injuries caused by at least 93 uses of a knife or bladed instrument - 48 of these were stab wounds and 47 multiple incise wounds.

The court heard she had suffered "four or five defensive injuries".

Her husband, Mr Taylor, had suffered 189 sharp force injuries made up of 188 uses of a knife or bladed instrument.

In a statement, Taylor's sister told of the impact Mr and Mrs Taylor, and Taylor's subsequent detention, had had on the family.

She said: "We could tell you that they were amazing - they were but why do you need to know this? They are our childhood, our memories.

"I could tell you the pain every day trying to face life, people crossing the road so they don't have to say anything, or people crossing the road to tell you they don't know what to say.

"The whole family have what we call 'broken smiles' - we try but it's not there.

"If this had been a case where our parents had been murdered in such a horrific way by a stranger we could direct the hatred and anger at the stranger.

"I can't do that because the person responsible is the brother we love.

"We didn't just lose our parents in this tragedy - we lost our brother too. Our children have lost their grandparents and uncle."

The woman said Taylor "asked for help by telling the professionals what he was thinking".

She said: "He must have been in turmoil."

She said the family believe her brother "didn't receive the help he needed and he couldn't cope with the demons in his head and that resulted in the murder of our parents.

"I have concerns the help he received was not adequate or timely."

The court heard an independent review into this would be carried out.

The woman said: "We can't change what happened to our parents or brother who we continue to support with his mental health journey but we never want another family to go through what we have and are still going through...

"We don't want our parents to be remembered for how they died but we want to remember them by how they lived their lives."

John Jones, mitigating, said Taylor's mental health progress had been "sporadic" and "inconsistent" and has still be suffering from audio hallucinations telling him to kill others and himself.

Mr Jones said: "He requires ongoing treatment and contained conditions. He continues to present a risk of harm to others."

As he sentenced Taylor, Judge Jonathan Rose said he had suffered with his mental health since he was 19 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and drug-induced psychosis.

He said Taylor's actions had "deprived his siblings their parents and caused immeasurable pain to the family torn between their loss and the person responsible is you - a man loved by siblings and the wider family."

The judge found Taylor intended to kill his parents.

He told him: "You used three knives which suggest in the frenzy of the violence you had the presence of mind to change weapon."

It was concluded Taylor was "dangerous" and the judge imposed a hybrid order which included hospital order and a minimum term of nine years.

At the end of the nine years, Taylor will have to go before a mental health tribunal who will determine if he should be released from prison.

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