Sir Richard Sutton: Thomas Schreiber 'heard voices' before the killing - BBC News
Thomas Schreiber tells a court he went "completely crazy" during an argument with his mother.
Sir Richard Sutton's wealth was valued at £301m in the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List

A man accused of murdering one of the UK's richest men and attempting to murder his mother told a court he went "completely crazy" during the attack.

Sir Richard Sutton, 83, was stabbed to death in April at his home near Gillingham, Dorset, and his partner Anne Schreiber was seriously injured.

He told Winchester Crown Court that he "saw the knife and heard a voice in my head shouting 'attack, attack'".

Schreiber, who has admitted manslaughter, recounted the events leading up to the killing on 7 April at Moorhill, the house he shared with his mother and Sir Richard.

It was the anniversary of his father's death, and he had planned to have a toast with the two of them to commemorate it, he told the court.

He said he was "sat very peacefully" with Sir Richard in his office when his mother returned home, following a visit to her late husband's grave.

Schreiber said: "Mum came in and took one look at me and said 'you're drunk, just like your father'. I shouted: 'I'm not drunk.'

"She stormed off, I stormed off after her and punched her in the arm or the back."

Thomas Schreiber (left) was given an allowance by Sir Richard of £1,000 a month, the court has been told

He told the jury he was "extra sensitive" when it came to the topic of his father, and he had been confronted by his mother in an "angry way".

As he followed her into the kitchen he said he noticed a knife on the kitchen island.

"I picked up the knife and started stabbing my mum, and Richard came in and I think he tried to stop me and I started stabbing him, and I just couldn't stop attacking my mum and Richard."

He added, becoming tearful: "My mum at one point shouted: 'Will you stop? Will you stop?' And I couldn't stop.

"And I started stabbing Richard and just going absolutely crazy and stabbing him and mum, and him and mum, and going between both of them."

Schreiber said during the attack he "wasn't thinking, I couldn't physically control myself".

He said afterwards he sat on a sofa "in complete horror, in complete shock".

He later left the house in Sir Richard's Range Rover, with a suitcase that had already been packed for a cancelled holiday.

He left Whatsapp voice notes to friends, ex-girlfriends and family members saying goodbye, and attempted to stab himself in the heart and slit his wrists as police arrested him.

Under cross-examination Schreiber admitted he was "quite tipsy" at the time of the attack, but denied being drunk.

A toxicology report stated he was three times the legal limit to drive.

The court heard that after the initial attack, Schreiber followed Sir Richard upstairs and continued stabbing him, leaving a trail of bloody footprints.

Schreiber said he had no memory of this part of the killing.

Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, put it to him that his version of events was a "complete lie".

He said: "You keep saying you lost control. Would it be more accurate to say you let your anger get the better of you?"

Schreiber replied: "No, because I wasn't in control. I've been angry before and I've had control."

But Mr Feest QC pointed out one of the messages Schreiber had sent to a friend.

In it he said: "I've let my anger get the better of me and I've killed my mother and I've killed her partner... I had to take action."

Schreiber told the court that "wasn't a proper reflection of what happened".

Mr Feest asked him if he attacked Sir Richard out of hatred.

Schreiber said: "That wasn't hatred. That was madness. That was more than anger. That was insanity.

"I've got a lot of flaws but I'm not a monster like that. On that day, at that time, I was a monster."

Earlier in the day, the jury was shown internet searches that Schreiber had made leading up to the killing.

They included topics about attention deficit disorder and cognitive behavioural therapy, but also "how to fight dark reoccurring thoughts", "12 clues a relationship with a parent is toxic", and "revenge on gold digging mother".

"I was looking for answers on how to cope," he told the court.

Sir Richard was listed at number 435 in the Sunday Times Rich List last year, with an estimated family fortune of £301m - a rise of £83m on the previous year.

Follow BBC South on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Send your story ideas to south.newsonline@bbc.co.uk.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.