A man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a 65-year-old woman on the grounds of diminished responsibility. June Fox-Roberts was found dead at her home in Llantwit Fardre, near Pontypridd, on November 21, 2021. Officers were called to the home in St Anne’s Drive after being contacted by a concerned family member.
Luke Deeley, 26, was arrested and charged with Mrs Fox-Roberts' murder. But appearing via videolink at Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday the defendant pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He pleaded not guilty to a count of murder, which was accepted by the Crown.
Prosecutor John Hipkin KC said Deeley, who was wearing a blue T-shirt and a denim jacket with a fur collar during the hearing, had been sectioned under section 45 of the Mental Health Act and had been remanded in a psychiatric hospital. He said three psychiatric reports had been prepared and were of the same opinion that Deeley was suffering an "abnormality of mind" at the time of Mrs Fox-Roberts' death, namely paranoid schizophrenia.
