A woman stabbed her 77-year-old dad in the chest after "The Devil" instructed her to kill him, a court heard. the disturbing background to the killing was heard before Ann Dixon, who turned 49 in January, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Dixon, of Moorbridge Lane, Stapleford, will be sentenced at Nottingham Court Court on Thursday morning (April 21), with Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, the Recorder of Nottingham, saying his current view is "it is self-evident there needs to a restriction order (an order under the Mental Health Act)".
Emergency services were called to a property in Moorbridge Lane shortly before 6.20am on Wednesday, March 3 last year, after a man suffered stab wounds. Dixon's father, Raymond Dixon, died of his injuries shortly afterwards.
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Detective Inspector Steve Wragg had said: “This was a tragic and distressing incident in which a man has lost his life. As our investigation continues we are also working to support the victim’s family at what we know will be an incredibly difficult time.”
Dr Hilary Parrott, a psychiatrist, gave evidence to the court before Dixon entered her guilty plea. She has been treating the defendant since July 2021 and believes she has severe paranoid schizophrenia which is treatment resistant.
She described Dixon as "being under the control of omnipotent voices" - something Dixon perceives are extremely powerful and have "complete power over her". "She has to do the bidding of the voices, particularly the male voice of the devil. She is very carefully managed. No staff can be with her on her own. She understands the voices did the act. That is what she has told me".
Mary Prior QC, prosecuting, asked: "And that 'act' caused the death of her father?" Doctor Parrott agreed. Dixon knows her father died and, "she knows the devil instructed her to kill him.
"She knows he is dead, she knows she killed him, but it was through the controlling affects of the voices," the court was told. Dixon, who is in a secure unit from where she later appeared on video link to enter her plea, is being supported by psychologists. Despite medication, Dr Parrott said they were still seeing very little impact at all on her voices and on her beliefs.
Dixon has been on Clozapine, a medication that works in the brain to treat schizophrenia, but, on occasions, patients do no respond to the drug, while two-thirds would. She is also on an antidepressant because her mood has been quite low. The trial (Dixon was originally charged with murder, which was listed for trial) has impacted quite negatively on her mental state.
When asked about prognosis, Dr Parrott said she would be guarded but thinks it is "poor". Mrs Prior said Dixon's plea to manslaughter with diminished responsibility is acceptable to the Crown, having had the benefit of reading a variety of psychiatric reports.
