A KILLER has been sentenced to life imprisonment after he became consumed by paranoid delusions before stabbing three men in a “swift and sadistic” attack of “extraordinary wickedness”.

Tom Saunders, 35, stabbed his two nephews Danny and Jason Gibson, before killing their friend Richard Booth, after becoming paranoid they were “out to get him”.

He inflicted more than 40 stab wounds on the Gibson brothers, before stabbing Mr Booth 21 times through an open car window.

Across a four-day sentencing hearing, Ipswich Crown Court heard Saunders had suffered with untreated paranoid schizophrenia since 2013.

As his condition worsened, he became consumed by a delusion that sinister forces were trying to end his life.

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He admitted three counts of manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility and one count of possessing a knife.

At court today, Saunders was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years and eight months until he can be considered for parole.

He was detained under the Mental Health Act and will remain at a high security hospital until he is deemed medically fit to be transferred to prison.

Judge Martyn Levett said Saunders had ended the lives of his three victims in circumstances which were “painfully sadistic”.

Gazette: Forensic teams at the scene of the killingsForensic teams at the scene of the killings

He said: “It’s not disputed you acted with an intention of killing Danny Gibson, Jason Gibson and Richard Booth and during the sentencing hearing I pointed out that although you acted with a diminished responsibility due to your mental illness, this does not mean that responsibility was extinguished.

“This week we have listened to a great deal about you; about your past, about your mental health conditions, the way you planned this killing, your attitudes, your drug taking.

“The case symbolises, in my view, what hidden dangers there are that lie beneath the surface of those suffering from mental illness [as well as] the use of knives to kill and their availability to anyone almost without question.

“In a matter of 40 minutes on October 5 2019, you took the lives of three young men.”

Judge Levett said dashcam footage extracted from Richard Booth’s car showed Saunders had launched a “swift and deadly attack across a 20-second rampage”.

READ MORE: Man stabbed three victims more than 60 times in 'frenzied and calculating' attack

Addressing the suffering caused to the members of the three victims’ families, Judge Levett said: “I would like to acknowledge that in a world of pain and suffering, you have undoubtedly added to the grief suffered by family members for their loss.

“For them, the facts of this case will leave a distressing memory, possibly psychological damage that no-one can begin to imagine with any words adequate to describe the pain and the sense of loss felt as a result of a killing in such a cruel and violent way.

“I have read the statements made by the family members and I acknowledge their hurt, their pain and how it travels down to the far reaches of their family and many of their friends.

“If it’s any consolation, I agree with an assessment there was a significant degree of planning and pre-meditation and there was absolutely no provocation or justification for the brutal killings in this way."

Gazette: The Gibson brothers and Richard Booth were killed in the 'rampage'The Gibson brothers and Richard Booth were killed in the 'rampage'

He added: “In my judgement this was such a brutal killing, of quite extraordinary wickedness, by planning in advance, the purchasing of two knives at 2pm.

“By 3.30pm you had purchased some new black clothing and footwear from Sports Direct and then gone home.

“Later you showered, you dressed in black, and having smoked a cannabis joint you drove to Colchester armed with a knife or knives, where you killed three young men.”

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Assessing the sentencing guideline for manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, Judge Levett found Saunders retained a ‘higher’ level of responsibility.

He said: “Although suffering from a mental illness, you knew what you were doing when you killed Danny, Jason and Richard, because that was your objective – that had been your mission.

“You acted with an intention to kill each one of them, and that must have been apparent from the overwhelming pathology and what you said to your mother about ‘making sure you finished them off so they were definitely dead’.

“Secondly there was a significant amount of planning and pre-meditation.”