A man who stabbed his mother to death with knives and a pair of scissors before walking into a pub bare-chested has been detained under an indefinite hospital order. Graham Daly, 45, admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility over the killing of his 70-year-old mother Phyllis Daly at their home in Maghull, Merseyside.
Liverpool Crown Court heard Daly left his mother dying on the kitchen floor before going to the Stanley Arms pub on July 13, 2025, where he arrived wearing only shorts and threatened to rape a member of staff. When police arrived, he told officers: "My mum tried to kill me today and I defended myself. I killed her."
Attack at family home
The court was told Phyllis Daly was at home on the morning of the attack, with her husband Dave having gone out to play golf. Her daughter Angela spoke to her by phone at around 10.15am, and Phyllis later sent an email saying she "wasn't going to allow Graham to play his music so early".
Neighbours heard arguing inside the home at 10.30am before Daly emerged before 11.30am "bare-chested and barefooted". Prosecutor Peter Glenser KC said Daly was "not running and did not appear, at the time, to be in distress" as he made his way to the Stanley Arms public house.
Details of the assault
A post-mortem revealed Phyllis was the "victim of a sustained attack with multiple weapons", including two stab wounds to either side of her neck and a further eight puncture wounds and 25 incised wounds across her neck and upper limbs. Knives and a pair of scissors recovered from the scene were said to be "consistent" with these injuries, while there was "evidence of a significant blunt force assault involving at least one weapon", believed to have been a "golf club or golf clubs". Bruising on her neck was consistent with a "prolonged neck compression".
Angela Daly, worried for her mother, visited the family home at 12.45pm and found Phyllis's lifeless body face down on the kitchen floor. Phyllis was formally pronounced dead at 1.24pm.
Hospital order and family impact
The court heard Daly had a history of mental health difficulties. Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Hasanen Al-Taiar said Daly was suffering from schizophrenia with symptoms of bipolar disorder, and argued that his "paranoid, persecutory delusions" led him to "genuinely believe he was reacting to an imminent threat to his own life". The court also heard that Daly's use of cannabis "was capable of exacerbating the severity and persistence" of his "psychotic symptoms".
Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: "The victim personal statements have all paid tribute to an exceptional woman and spoken with conviction of the devastating impact that her death has had on their lives. I cannot improve on the words of Phyllis' daughter, who said 'My mum, together with my dad, created a safe, happy home for us, built on a foundation of love. My mum was a kind, selfless lady who put everybody else's needs before her own. She was love personified. She was the beating heart of our family'."
The judge told Daly: "You have a history of poor mental health. When you committed this offence, you were living at home with your parents. Your parents loved you and did their best to care for you and support you. On the 13th of July, your father left the house to play golf, leaving you at home with your mother. You attacked and killed your mother."
Judge Flewitt added: "The only account you have given of what happened is that you believed your mother had tried to kill you, and you struck her in self-defence. That suggestion is clearly untrue and almost certainly a product of your mental illness. When your sister attended the house, she found your mother lifeless on the kitchen floor. Your mother was the victim of a sustained attack with at least two different weapons."
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Nuttall, of Merseyside Police, said: "Phyllis's family and loved ones have been left devastated by their senseless loss, and the circumstances surrounding her death have made it even harder for them to come to terms with what has happened. They have shown immense courage and dignity throughout the criminal investigation and the complex legal proceedings that have followed."
Daly, who appeared remotely from Ashworth Hospital where he has been held since his arrest, was handed an indefinite hospital order. Judge Flewitt also commended the actions of staff at the Stanley Arms pub for the "remarkable presence of mind they showed, in effect detaining or distracting Mr Daly" ahead of the arrival of police.
