WOMAN WITH HEARING VOICES STABS FATHER TO DEATH AND GETS INDEFINITE HOSPITAL ORDER
A woman who stabbed her father to death after hearing voices has been issued with an indefinite hospital order.Ann Dixon attacked her dad Ray at their home in Nottinghamshire on the morning of 3 March 2021.
One stab wound went through the ribs into his heart.
Dixon, 49, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility on Wednesday, and was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday.
Ray Dixon managed to call 999 after being stabbed by his daughter.
The court heard Dixon had lived at home with her parents all of her life.
Her mother Janet had died of cancer in December 2020.
On the night before the killing, in Moorbridge Lane, Stapleford, her sister said Mr Dixon had made his daughter her favourite meal of pancakes and honey, and they planned to watch a film.
Shortly after 06:00 GMT, she came from her bedroom with a knife and entered her father's bedroom, stabbing the 77-year-old in the chest.
She later went to the kitchen to eat cereal but, realizing her father was not dead, returned upstairs with a larger knife.
He managed to resist, told her to go to her room, and called 999 but was pronounced dead at about 06:45.
A post-mortem examination revealed the fatal stab fractured two ribs and reached his heart.
Mr Dixon's granddaughter Abby described how he fought back after the attack and called for help, stating she was proud of his bravery and that he died fighting.
The court heard Dixon had not been diagnosed with a disorder prior to the killing but had been hearing voices urging her to kill her father to reunite him with her mother, and she told police she worshipped the devil.
Despite nearly a year of medical care, the voices persist and her condition is deemed 'treatment-resistant'.
Four psychiatrists involved in her care described her as a serious risk to the public and recommended she remain in hospital, as a custodial sentence could worsen her condition.
Judge Gregory Dickinson QC stated: "Ray died alone [and] unnecessarily, but with great courage and dignity." The judge added that Dixon's hearing voices 'commands her to harm others' and that her lack of response to treatment poses a risk to public safety.
He also paid tribute to Ray's family, calling the death 'unspeakably tragic and horrible.' Her condition was described as 'treatment-resistant,' and she was given an indefinite hospital order, emphasizing her ongoing mental health issues and potential danger to the public.
The court considered her mental health and the voices urging her to harm her father as the primary reasons for her incarceration.
