Loner heard ‘20 to 30 voices in his head’

MATTHEW Daley had been a happy child but gradually became dogged by mental illness which would eventually lead him to kill.

After his parents Lynda and John split when he was 19, his condition deteriorated.

Psychiatrists were unable to agree on his condition. Some argued he had Asperger syndrome, while others determined he was a paranoid schizophrenic.

The young man seemed to find solace from his mental condition in his job of mucking out at a stables.

Here he fed Honey – a pony he would later tell police he wanted to “disappear with” after the killing of Donald Lock. He even packed a passport for the horse in the hours after the attack – along with 14 Leslie Howard films which he said would “keep me entertained at night”.

A fellow worker at the remote stables in West Sussex said one day Daley arrived in his Ford Fusion with three goats in the back.

He was allowed to keep the animals and a mechanic who worked on his car would later tell how it “stank of animals”.

But it became clear during the trial that only his close family were familiar with his darker side. Daley’s father told how his son would randomly attack people in the street, wrongly thinking they were talking about him or trying to steal his girlfriend.

He had written repeatedly to his son’s mental health team warning them that his son “could hurt someone or worse” and there could be a “fatality”.

Mr Daley said: “There has been no let up in these symptoms, I witnessed them on a daily basis.”

During the trial, his mother Lynda wept as she told how hard it had been to cope with his volatility. When he became agitated she had to wait until he decided it was time to go to hospital.

She was frightened of her own son.

Sexual urges drove the loner into the arms of prostitutes – he visited a sex worker the night before stabbing Mr Lock.

Sobbed

Mrs Daley sobbed as she explained how in the week before the killing, her estranged husband had been on holiday – something that always caused her son stress.

Daley had also split with on-off girlfriend, Lea Luff. “It caused him great anxiety and stress,” his mother said.

“It happened on numerous occasions and Matthew would try and deal with it as best he can.”

She explained that only running and his animals helped take away the “20 to 30 voices in his head”.

“He would run two or three marathons a week across the Downs. He would take his goats with him.”

As she left court after giving evidence for the prosecution, Mrs Daley looked up to her expressionless son in the dock and mouthed: “I love you.”

He didn’t react.