Mentally-ill son guilty of beating mother to death Man who claimed insanity sentenced to indefinite hospital order for manslaughter
ASON who killed his mother with a dumbbell bar at their Birmingham home has been convicted of manslaughter.
Kaysley Smithen repeatedly struck teaching assistant Janice Smithen, 46, at the property in Spring Hill, Hockley, in July 2012.
Her body was discovered by police after relatives had become concerned for her welfare and could not contact her.
Ms Smithen was found dead on the floor, having suffered serious head injuries consistent with being hit a number of times.
Kaysley Smithen was arrested soon afterwards in a neighbour’s back garden, but was detained under the Mental Health Act after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Following treatment and ongoing assessments, the now 26-yearold was considered fit to stand trial.
Smithen accepted killing his mother, but claimed he was suffering from insanity at the time and was not in control of his actions.
He was found guilty of man- slaughter at Birmingham Crown Court and sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.
The court had heard he tried cleaning the crime scene and lied about the mother.
The case comes six months after the family finally received an official apology from the health trust caring for Smithen, more than five years after his mother’s death.
An investigation found a number of failures in his care and that Janice’s death could potentially have been prevented if Kaysley had been detained under the Mental Health Act.
Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust did not accept legal responsibility, but chief executive John Short has offered his ‘personal apologies’.
Christopher Hurlston, specialist lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, said: “Both Janice and Kaysley were failed by Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. If staff had acted with more urgency, Janice would still be alive and Kaysley could have received the vital treatment he needed.
“While it may be five years too late, we are pleased the trust has finally apologised to Janice’s family.
“We hope the trust learns lessons from this tragic case so others don’t suffer like Janice and her family.” whereabouts of his