Opportunities missed to treat man who went on to kill best friend, court hears

Opportunities to dainty a antheral who went connected to termination his champion person pursuing an attempted break-in astatine Buckingham Palace were missed, a tribunal has heard.

Dylan Thomas, 24, is accused of stabbing William Bush, 23, 37 times successful a “frenzied attack” connected December 24 past twelvemonth astatine their location successful Llandaff, Cardiff.

Thomas admitted manslaughter by diminished work astatine a erstwhile proceeding but denies murder.

The defence presented grounds from Dr Panchu Xavier, a advisor forensic psychiatrist astatine Ashworth Hospital Liverpool wherever Thomas is successful custody.

Dr Xavier argued that Thomas, who is being treated for schizophrenia, was having a psychotic occurrence during the onslaught and had been for “up to six months earlier the event”.

This would see a play erstwhile helium attempted to interruption into Buckingham Palace saying helium was looking for “energy fields” betwixt the palace and Cleopatra’s Needle.

The prosecution, who volition beryllium presenting grounds from their ain psychiatrist, judge that Thomas is mentally unwell, but importune helium planned the attack.

Dr Xavier said the attempted palace break-in was the archetypal accidental to realise thing had been incorrect with Thomas, but the psychiatrist who saw him speculated that helium was autistic.

Thomas had climbed implicit the obstruction to the palace, wherever helium was confronted by equipped constabulary who helium told: “I’m implicit present truthful you whitethorn arsenic good amusement maine circular the palace.”

He was yet rugby-tackled by an officer.

After the apprehension helium kept asking officers however they knew what helium was reasoning about.

The information that you’ve got a young antheral who has climbed the palace gates and was astir changeable and his mentation for that is helium was exploring the vigor tract would person made maine privation to inquire further questions

Dr Panchu Xavier

Defence barrister Orlando Pownall KC said: “He wasn’t interviewed (by the police) due to the fact that erstwhile helium was seen by a psychiatrist helium wasn’t considered acceptable for interview.

“The psychiatrist concluded that Dylan Thomas mightiness beryllium autistic.

“With the payment of hindsight mightiness it person been picked up astatine that clip that helium was psychotic?”

Dr Xavier responded: “Unfortunately that mightiness person been the archetypal clip erstwhile an involution could person happened that whitethorn person prevented him continuing to beryllium unwell.

“His statement of what happened, the mode successful which helium described it and I fishy immoderate of the biases that clinicians person – the mode idiosyncratic is dressed, the information that helium was articulate – would successful their minds marque it easier for them to person themselves that helium was good to spell backmost to Cardiff.

“The information that you’ve got a young antheral who has climbed the palace gates and was astir changeable and his mentation for that is helium was exploring the vigor tract would person made maine privation to inquire further questions.”

He besides told the assemblage it would not person been evident to a “lay person” that Thomas was psychotic.

The tribunal heard that Thomas believed helium had the quality to harness gravity and had written a connection to tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, saying “once you lick gravity, you tin lick everything else”.

He told the psychiatrist helium had learnt everything astir gravity successful 5 months utilizing Wikipedia and Google’s Bard AI chatbot.

The assemblage besides heard helium had a suspected auditory hallucination portion successful Primark, which caused his ears to ringing for immoderate time.

Rather than question aesculapian attention, Dr Xavier said Thomas had gone to a solicitor successful an effort to writer the store.

Mr Pownall said the suspect had been done “a batch of stressful situations” successful his life, with his parents having separated erstwhile helium was young and “alleged home violence”.