A man called his friend a "future paedophile" and then stabbed his mum in the neck. Ellis Sanderson was told he "may well have killed" Nicola Carney after he escalated an online feud he had picked with her son.
She did not suffer serious injuries in the knife attack on her own doorstep, The Liverpool Echo reports. Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 19-year-old had "grown up" with Michael Carney, but in October last year the defendant sent his pal a string of messages "using homophobic language" and "stating that he wasn't gay".
One read: "You future paedophile, trying to get in my life - I'll slit your throat."
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Mr Carney blocked Sanderson and had no subsequent contact with him, until the teenager attended the home on Andrew Street in Walton where he lived with his mother at around 5.30pm on December 8. He began banging on the front door, which was opened by Ms Carney.
Ken Grant, prosecuting, described how the teen began trying to force his way into the property and "lunged" at her with a knife "in a stabbing motion" 10 to 15 times. She was eventually able to close the door again with the assistance of her son.
Ms Carney was treated at the scene by paramedics, with the blade having caused a "slight cut" to her neck which did not require hospital treatment. Sanderson was arrested at his flat on Upper Parliament Street the following day.
He has one previous conviction for possession of a bladed article in a public place following an incident on September 14, 2021. This came after police were called to the Kensington area following reports of three men fighting in the street with machetes.
The caller stated that one of them had then got onto a bus, which was then located and stopped by officers. Sanderson was removed from the vehicle and searched, with a kitchen knife being found in the left pocket of his jacket.
He told officers he was "suffering from paranoia" and "had the knife because it made him feel safer", as well as admitting he "would have used it to defend himself if he had come under attack". The knifeman was sentenced to a 16-week imprisonment suspended for a year.
The court heard on Wednesday that Sanderson has schizophrenia and suffers from "delusions and hallucinations", including believing he can communicate telepathically. He had not been taking his medication at the time of the altercations, with his defence counsel Lloyd Morgan adding: "He does suffer from a mental disorder that does require treatment in order to prevent him from being a danger to the public."
Sanderson - who appeared via video link to Clock View Hospital - admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a bladed article in a public place and breaching a suspended sentence order and was given an indefinite hospital order. Sentencing, Recorder Andrew McLoughlin said: "You could have caused her irreparable harm.
"You may well have killed her, given the nature of your attack on her. Fortunately, that did not occur.
"I am satisfied that you are suffering from a mental disorder, namely schizophrenia. The disorder is of a nature which makes it appropriate for you to be detained in hospital for medical treatment.
"There is a risk you will commit further offences if you are not detained. It is therefore necessary to protect the public from serious harm."
Forfeiture and destruction of the knife was also ordered.
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