Judge to make hospital order in case of Halifax man accused of trying to kill his mum in Todmorden

Andrew Martin, 32, stabbed his mum Olwen in the kitchen of her home last September, but the knife he used shattered and mercifully she only suffered minor injuries to her shoulder blade and lower back.

Following the late afternoon attack Martin, who suffers from a schizoid-affected disorder, said: “I tried to kill her but the ring of power stopped me.

“She has the ring of power. She bought my soul that’s how the ring was made.”

Later Martin said: “I’m very ill. I need medication. The voices told me to do it. The voices told me to murder her.”

A judge is expected to make a hospital order tomorrow (Friday).

Mrs Martin told a jury at Bradford Crown Court today (Thursday) that she screamed for her husband’s help after being attacked by her son and he was able to get Martin into the living room of the home.

The court heard that Martin had been armed with two knives and his mum said she thought he was going to attack her with the second knife after the first one split.

Martin, who had been living alone in an empty flat in York Street, Halifax, began abusing drugs as a youngster and was supposed to take daily medication for his mental illness.

A few days before the attack he turned up at his parents’ home with a bad finger injury and Mrs Martin told the court that her son had said the end of his finger had been cut off by someone who wanted money from him.

She said it was clear he had been through some kind of trauma and needed to stay with them.

On the day of the attack they had tried to discuss the possibility of her son being moved to the Todmorden area with a council officer, but Martin had become more agitated.

Mrs Martin said she was desperately worried about her son and later told him to “chill out” in his room because he was becoming very stressed.

She said he was saying strange things and it was later that afternoon when he came downstairs and told her he was going to murder her.

After reading psychiatric reports on Martin Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC concluded that he was suffering from a disability which meant he was unfit to plead to the charge of attempted murder or take part in the trial process.

Martin is currently detained in a hospital unit and in his absence the jury made a determination that he had committed the acts alleged against him.

Judge Durham Hall adjourned the case until tomorrow morning when he is expected to impose a hospital order on Martin after hearing formal evidence from a psychiatrist.