A PARANOID schizophrenic who lured a neighbour into his flat before attempting to stab him to his head and neck was on a mission to collect ‘seven souls’ for the devil, a court heard.

Philip Sinclair was in the grip of a severe psychotic episode when he launched the unprovoked attack in January this year.

The 48-year-old trapped his neighbour inside his Middlesbrough home when they were moving a sofa before grabbing an eight-inch kitchen knife and trying to stab his intended victim to death.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Sinclair was being treated in the community for his longstanding mental health issues but had stopped taking his medication in the weeks leading up to the attack as he was convinced it was ‘poison and witchcraft’.

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Mrs Justice May DBE issued an indefinite hospital order after Sinclair pleaded guilty to attempted murder on the day of his trial and admitted that he wanted to ‘chop up the victim and show parts to neighbours’.

The judge accepted that the defendant was in the grip of a ‘florid psychotic phase’ when he launched the violent attack on his neighbour after taking cocaine.

She heard how the victim had been left terrified by the attack and was worried about his neighbour being released from custody as he had to walk past him flat to get to his own home.

The Northern Echo: Faygate Court, Hemlington, Middlesbrough. Picture: GOOGLEFaygate Court, Hemlington, Middlesbrough. Picture: GOOGLE

Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, told the court how Sinclair had wandered around the streets of Hemlington near his home looking for another potential victim while he was armed with a hammer the day before his arrest on January 8 this year for the attempted murder of his neighbour.

“He heard the defendant say very clearly ‘I am going to kill you’ and he felt an immediate sense of panic as he knew he was trapped,” Mr Cleasby said.

“The defendant then swung the knife at his head, the victim raised his hand to block the knife but the knife still made contact with his head causing a small wound which began to bleed.

“The man took hold of the defendant’s arm and twist it causing him to drop the knife, he was then able to push him against the wall causing the defendant to fall over and he took the opportunity to escape the flat.”

Mr Cleasby said the defendant told police it was the ‘devil’ that made him do it before he started banging his head against the side of the van.

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Concerned officers took Sinclair to James Cook University Hospital due to his mental state as he spoke about ‘It’ a separate entity based in his spine was causing him to try to kill seven people, the court heard.

The prosecution counsel added: “The defendant was talking about the devil, he was agitated and appeared to be in a confused state.”

During police interview, the defendant made multiple statements about the devil saying "it’s not easy to kill someone, I’ve tried twice now, it’s not like in the movies, the knife, I can’t believe it bent on his neck."

Sinclair said "it told me to stop, It said potions don’t work; it’s witchcraft; I have never felt so elated. I know what I have to do; seven souls It wanted."

The defendant told police that he had previously attacked a man with a metal bar and fractured his skull in an attempt to murder him.

Sinclair, of Faygate Court, Hemlington, pleaded guilty to attempted murder on the day his trial was due to start.

Andrew Stranex, in mitigation, said his client’s offence was a direct result of his mental illness and urged the judge to ensure he received the appropriate treatment in a hospital environment.

He added: “This a very unfortunate and sad case, this is a man with a clear and longstanding issue.”

The judge issued Sinclair with an indefinite mental health hospital order as he was suffering from ‘acute paranoid psychosis’ when he attacked the victim and said he could have been facing up to 20 years in custody for the attempted murder conviction.

She added: “In the circumstances of this case, where the defendant was so very unwell at the time and his illness was responsible for the delusions that caused him to seek to kill the man, a different approach is required.”

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