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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Philip Dewey

Man repeatedly stabbed grandmother while thinking he was in a scene from Friday the 13th

A grandson repeatedly stabbed his grandmother with a knife while thinking he was re-enacting a scene from the movie Friday the 13th. The grandmother later died but the circumstances were unrelated to the attack.

Owain Powell, 29, came into his grandmother Elizabeth Powell's room at a house in Cardiff on September 13, 2019, armed with a knife. He then "delivered a series of blows" to her body, causing a number of injuries.

A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday heard Powell suffers with mental health issues and had since been diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder and a mild learning disability. The defendant, of Thornhill, Cardiff, was found guilty of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily harm, but due to his condition he was not found to be criminally responsible.

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Judge Michael Fitton KC said Powell was diagnosed following a number of psychiatric reports from psychologists. He was considered to be unfit to plead or to understand the court process. When he was medically assessed, his behaviour was described as "odd" and at the time of the incident he "thought he was reenacting a scene from Friday the 13th".

Powell was made subject to hospital orders under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act. The orders will last indefinitely.

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