Tom Saunders sentence: Killer 'self-medicated with cannabis'

Tom Saunders, 35, inflicted more than 40 stab wounds on his nephews Danny and Jason Gibson, before stabbing his friend Richard Booth 21 times through an open car window.

The court heard Saunders’ mental health had worsened in the months before he stabbed the three victims in Wellesley Road, Colchester, in October 2019.

READ MORE: Tom Saunders stabbed three victims more than 60 times

His mother told police he had not eaten or slept for three days before the killings.

She said he played the radio “constantly” and had been referencing items in the news relating to Boris Johnson, Brexit and events relating to the Extinction Rebellion protests, claiming “everyone was going to be killed by people wearing masks”.

Prosecutor Karim Khalil QC said: “He had attended a medical appointment about a month before the killing, but he had refused to be referred to a psychiatrist and refused to be admitted to hospital.

“He refused to consider the possibility of appropriate medication but chose instead to smoke cannabis.”

While receiving treatment in hospital after the stabbings, Saunders told a nurse he had been “given a task by the Government to reduce population due to overcrowding”.

He said he planned to cycle his bicycle around at Halloween and kidnap people, before taking them to a place called ‘Holly House’ to torture them.

Mr Khalil said Saunders’ brother had judged the defendant to be dangerous and had tried to persuade their mother to call a doctor.

He added: “His prediction of the level of dangerousness presented by the defendant proved to be all too accurate.”

The court heard Saunders believed Danny Gibson was “out to get him” and that Saunders was friends “on and off” with Jason.

Mr Khalil said Saunders was friends with Richard Booth, but also said he disliked him and “kept him close to make sure he wasn’t against him”.

Mr Khalil said each victim was attacked “in a frenzied manner with a lethal knife”.

The scene of the killings in Colchester

“He targeted, deliberately, their head and neck regions and added additional stab wounds to vulnerable areas of the torso when possible,” he said.

“He was calculating and devastatingly effective in his approach. It is remarkable he managed to kill three men in such a brutal manner.

“He made it clear to his mother afterwards he had set out to kill each of them, and he made sure he carried out his intention.”

Saunders, of Bounstead Road, Colchester, was arrested and a lengthy investigation into his mental health followed.

All forensic psychiatrists involved in the case agreed Saunders suffered from paranoid schizophrenia.

Saunders admitted three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility, pleas which were accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

A sentencing hearing is expected to last three days.