A man has been found not guilty of murdering a much-loved grandad in a Tyneside block of flats by reason of insanity.
Andrew Peacock admitted killing Lee Santos by stabbing him at least 59 times in Cullercoats on December 23 last year. However, the 44-year-old had a history of of suffering from epileptic fits and had endured one such episode moments prior to launching his frenzied knife attack on Mr Santos.
Newcastle Crown Court heard that Mr Peacock had been suffering from "postictal confusion and amnesia", as well as "postictal psychosis" at the time, so was unaware of what he was doing. The same conclusion was drawn from four separate forensic psychiatrists who each examined Mr Peacock after his arrest.
