DAUGHTER OF CRADLEY KILLS MOTHER AMID VOICES IN HER HEAD
A DAUGHTER killed her own mother in the dead of night by stabbing her seven times in the chest while she lay in bed, a court has heard.Laura Van Marle traveled more than 150 miles to the Herefordshire village where her parents lived, as she listened to voices in her head telling her to kill.
Worcester Crown Court heard that Van Marle – said to be on the verge of insanity – admitted to stabbing her mother to death at their home in Cradley using a kitchen knife.
Prosecutor Richard Smith QC stated that Susanna Van Marle's last words to her daughter were 'you've killed me'.
After remaining motionless during sentencing, Van Marle broke down and wailed as she was taken from the dock after a judge passed an indefinite hospital order.
Mr Smith said her mother had been asleep in bed with her husband when her daughter, 41, let herself into the house with a spare key kept in the garage.
Van Marle, who traveled from Dorset where she previously lived, believed Satan was taking over the world and felt it was the right thing to do to relieve her mother's suffering.
She has suffered from severe mental health issues since 2010, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which led to illusions and hallucinations.
She bought a fillet knife from a Dorchester shop and arrived in Cradley in the early hours of September 26, 2020.
After finding a larger knife in the kitchen, she sat on her parents' bed, woke them, and upon a brief conversation, stabbed her mother seven times, damaging arteries, lungs, and the heart.
Her father managed to lock her out until police arrived, and Van Marle claimed her actions were dictated by an 'inner message'.
She pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, with a low residual responsibility due to her mental health.
The judge sentenced her to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act, with a restriction order under Section 41, as she was considered a risk of reoffending.
