TEEN KILLER ETHAN MOUNTAIN TO BE DETAINED UNDER MENTAL HEALTH ACT
Ethan Mountain, aged 19, carried out a brutal and unprovoked stabbing attack at a retail store in Fulwell, Sunderland, on the 5th of September, during which he stabbed the victim at least 19 times.The victim, Joan Hoggett, a 62-year-old employee, sustained 19 stab wounds and succumbed to her injuries.
Mountain previously admitted to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility because he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, a severe mental health condition.
Nevertheless, he was still deemed to pose a considerable danger to the public, resulting in the court ruling that he be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.
Court proceedings uncovered that Mountain left a bag containing a hammer, a sheathed samurai sword, machetes, and three knives after the attack.
CCTV footage shown to the jury depicted Mountain entering the shop, producing a knife while wearing a mask.
He had been hospitalized under section at 17 due to his diagnosis but was later discharged.
Two psychiatrists confirmed that he was experiencing paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the killing.
The judge commented, 'Considering the circumstances of Joan Hoggett’s death and everything I have heard about you, it is evident that you represent a serious risk of causing harm to others through further offences.' The court acknowledged that Mountain’s mental health disorder was a key factor in the case and ordered that he be detained at Rampton Hospital, a secure psychiatric facility.
