A brother who bludgeoned his older sister to death with a hammer as she lay in bed has been detained indefinitely for manslaughter. Richard Law, 68, repeatedly struck his sister Judith, 70, at their shared home in Newton Poppleford, Devon, in January this year.
Exeter Crown Court heard the siblings were reclusive and experiencing an "inter-related spiral of mental decline" at the time of Miss Law's death. On the afternoon of January 17, Law phoned 999 and told the operator: "I've killed my sister, and so I need you to come."
Emergency call reveals mental state
"We've both gone mad, I mean, mentally. I just couldn't cope with it all," Law told the emergency operator. The emergency services found Miss Law dead in her bed having suffered severe head injuries from at least six blows from a hammer.
Jo Martin KC, prosecuting, said Law told police there had been a build-up from Christmas Day, although there had been no big argument. "He said, 'I kept hitting her to make sure because I didn't want to leave her. She wanted to die, the same as I did'," Miss Martin told the court.
Siblings lived separate lives
Law explained his reclusive nature to officers, saying: "Part of my problem is being reclusive and withdrawn. The last thing you want to do is go to counselling or go to the doctor." After being taken to the police station, Law told officers he had intended to take his own life and was detained under the Mental Health Act.
Police investigations found the siblings led quiet but separate lives, despite sharing their former parents' home. "They were not well known to their neighbours," Miss Martin said, adding that they would shop and eat separately despite living under the same roof.
Relationship tensions escalated
Neighbours knew the siblings didn't have a particularly good relationship, but no one had anticipated it would end in killing. Miss Martin said Law told psychiatrists that both he and his sister spoke of suicide and that he was becoming "increasingly stressed".
"On January 17 he said that they'd had a conversation about how long it would take them both to rot if they just stayed in bed and didn't eat," she said. "He said that he recalled thinking that this was the day to end their lives."
Flood damage worsened situation
Law, of Lark Rise, Newton Poppleford, had previously been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Two psychiatrists found he had been suffering from a "severe depressive disorder" which had affected his culpability.
Dan Pawson-Pounds, defending, said tensions between the siblings had worsened after their village flooded in 2023 and their home needed repairs. He said Law's reclusive nature was a longstanding character trait developed over many years and identifiable from at least the mid-1990s.
Judge imposes hospital order
The defence barrister said that whilst there were clear tensions in the relationship, there was no suggestion of any violence between them before the killing. Judge Anna Richardson imposed a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41, meaning Law can be detained indefinitely.
"On January 17 this year you rang 999 telling the operator that you had killed your sister, that you had struck her with a hammer more than once, and that you had both gone mad," Judge Richardson said. She accepted that Law was genuinely remorseful and concluded that public protection was better served by a hospital order rather than a prison sentence.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
