Too middle class to kill
Son with schizophrenia left to stab his mother to death after doctors thought he was:
A SoN suffering from schizophrenia was left free to kill his mother after health staff and police assumed he was ‘too middle-class’ to be dangerous, a damning report has revealed.
Christian Lacey, 21, was battling a psychotic episode when he stabbed his mother Liz, 63, to death last year.
A review into how his case was handled has found that doctors, police and mental health workers missed two chances to stop the attack. Hours before the killing, Lacey was released from police custody despite having tried to strangle his father and half-brother. A month before the attack, his family had taken him to hospital over concerns for his mental health.
The report suggested that judgment was ‘clouded’ because of his middle- class background. It said: ‘It appears that a collective assumption was made by Lacey’s GP, the police and A&E staff with regard to him appearing well-dressed, being from “a nice family and home”, and this may have clouded their judgment in relation to his presentation and risk – a human factor related to unconscious bias.’
It added: ‘It appeared that his presentation – which was fairly settled in manner – coherent conversations and his social circumstances... did not suggest an underlying serious psychotic illness or that there were risks of serious violence.’
Lacey attacked his mother at her house in Liverpool before walking round the corner to his grandmother’s home and knifing her carer 12 times.
Miss Lacey’s body was discovered by her brother after being subjected to what the review described as a ‘manic act of violence’. Lacey was initially
‘From a nice family and home’
charged attempted with murder. murder and
But the Crown Prosecution Service agreed to accept pleas of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after details of his illness came to light. He was ordered to be detained indefinitely at the high-security Ashworth psychihomeless atric hospital. Judge Clement Goldstone QC, sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court, ordered Mersey Care NHS Trust to make public the review into what went wrong with Lacey’s care.
The report revealed that Lacey went missing for several hours in London last year. He later described to his family how he had given his new phone to a thought was going it to was man die. hacked because and he he Royal Relatives Liverpool took him Hospital to A&E but at his symptoms for schizophrenia were mistaken for Asperger syndrome and cannabis-induced psychosis. A mental health worker noted that ‘ he was a pleasant young man who did not appear to have any significant mental health issues’.
The report accused medical staff of showing a ‘lack of professional curiosity’ while examining Lacey. The following month Lacey walked into his halfbrother Jacob Carfoot’s room and began strangling him.
Mr Carfoot escaped and ran out of the house. Later that evening, Lacey attacked his father Johann Wierzbick – strangling and then punching him before Mr Carfoot intervened.
The next day the family took him to a GP who advised Lacey on techniques to deal with his anger. While Lacey was at the doctor’s surgery his father found a bread knife wrapped in clothing hidden in his bedroom and called the police.
But Mersey Care staff from the Criminal Justice Liaison Team decided that he did not need to be sectioned.
The report found that no attempt had been made to explore the reasons behind the attacks and that some of the people assessing Lacey were not trained in dealing with mental health issues.
Mersey Care has now ordered a series of recommendations to be implemented – including new training for staff in recognising psychosis and assessing risk.
They are also being given reminders to question the family and carers of mental health patients properly.