"he’s going to have residual symptoms for the rest of his life.”
Shanil Patel, aged 32, of Ealing, West London, has been given an indefinite hospital order after he beat his mother to death with a cricket bat.
He attacked 62-year-old Hansa Patel in the living room of their home in Drew Gardens, Greenford, while her husband took a nap upstairs on November 25, 2020.
Despite the best efforts of London Ambulance Service (LAS) paramedics, Ms Patel was pronounced dead after suffering several head injuries.
Patel, who has suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since 2009, left the house shortly after the attack.
He was arrested the following morning.
Ms Patel was a retired hospital worker, previously working at Ealing Hospital.
She had left her role to care for her son, who suffered frequent hallucinations and psychotic episodes.
In a ‘trial of facts’ at the Old Bailey, the majority of the jury ruled that Patel committed the acts that led to his mother’s death.
It was heard that he remains unwell and poses a serious risk to the public.
Dr Marc Jeanneret told the court about Patel’s condition, stating that there was a risk of self-harm and that he would struggle to cope in the community due to his condition.
He said: “I suspect it would take a very long time to get him back to a state in which he can function outside of a hospital environment.
“There is the risk that he’s going to have residual symptoms for the rest of his life.”
Dr Jeanneret added that Patel had also shown “low-level aggression” to members of his family and others before the killing.
Judge Anthony Leonard QC said Patel was “very sick and will not leave hospital” as he posed both a risk to himself and members of the public.
He addressed Patel’s father and said that it “may be of some comfort that his son bears no mental responsibility for what he has done”.
Calling it a “tragic case”, Judge Leonard said:
“I am satisfied he is suffering with a mental disorder, namely acute paranoid schizophrenia.
“It is appropriate for him to be detained in hospital to receive treatment.”
Patel’s illness had been managed by medication but on the day of the incident, something appeared to have “triggered” the sustained and violent attack on his mother.
Lisa Wilding QC, prosecuting, previously said:
“Shanil’s illness would come in ebbs and flows but he had found the first lockdown hard, although he seemed to be coping better with the second.
“He suffered from hallucinations that had previously told him to hurt people but Shanil had been able to control them.”
The court heard that Patel was last in contact with mental health services shortly before lockdown.
On December 16, 2021, Patel was handed a hospital order without a limit of time.
Loading ...