The grandmother of a five-year-old boy who was stabbed to death at his home has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after admitting his manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Romanian national Elena Anghel, who was suffering delusions linked to paranoid schizophrenia, killed David-Mario Lazar, known to his family as Mario, at their house in Poplar Road, Earlsdon, Coventry on January 25 last year.
The court was told the schoolboy suffered 29 areas of sharp force injuries after Anghel “lost contact with reality” due to an acute and sudden deterioration in her mental health.
Passing sentence on the 51-year-old at Warwick Crown Court, High Court judge Mrs Justice Cockerill described the case as “truly tragic”.
The judge told Anghel: “The sad truth is that when you killed Mario you were exceedingly mentally unwell.
“Your delusions were all-encompassing. You had in effect lost contact with reality.
“You were convinced that your grandson was in such danger of terrible suffering that it would be better to kill him and that is what you did.
“I am sure you would never have hurt, much less killed, Mario had you not been very ill.”
The court was told Anghel, who was accompanied in the dock by four health workers and an interpreter, has an extensive history of treatment in Romania for psychotic and depressive disorders dating back to at least 2009, including eight stays in psychiatric units.
Imposing a hospital order “without limit of time” on Anghel, the judge said: “You have expressed profound remorse… so much so that you have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“That course (a hospital order) is supported without reservation by all of the medical professionals.
“You will need treatment for the rest of your life. The evidence is clear – this is best done in hospital.”
David-Mario’s parents, Cristina and Cristina and Dorinel, were present in court for the sentencing hearing and were thanked by the judge for their courage and graciousness in watching the proceedings.
In a victim impact statement read into the court record by prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith, David-Mario’s mother said: “I still cannot believe this has happened. It is over a year ago now and nothing changes.”
The victim impact statement continued: “In our home Mario is everywhere. There are pictures and memories of him all over.
“He will never be forgotten.”
Opening the facts of the case, prosecution counsel Christopher Tehrani KC said Anghel, who has no previous convictions, had not told her GP about her mental health problems.
The court heard Romanian-born David-Mario, described as a bright boy who took pleasure in learning English, was killed after coming home from school with his father, who then returned to work.
Shortly before 5.15pm, the court heard, Anghel went to a Co-op store in nearby Earlsdon Street in a distressed state, appearing to be saying “police” and “translate” repeatedly.
Police were called to the scene and Anghel told an officer who could speak Romanian that she had killed her grandson, making delusional claims that she had not wanted him to suffer serious assaults at the hands of someone else.
Police then discovered Mario’s body and he was pronounced dead.
Offering mitigation prior to sentence, defence KC Caroline Haughey described the case as “an utterly tragic and horrendous event for all parties.”
“What is abundantly clear is that she loved her grandson unconditionally,” she added.
