Moses Fernandes, 23, has been handed an indefinite hospital order after stabbing his lodger, 71-year-old Terry McFadyen, at least 179 times in a frenzied attack. Fernandes admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility at a previous hearing after being diagnosed with a "schizophrenia-like illness".
Attack at Norwich home
Prosecutor William Carter told Norwich Crown Court that Fernandes stabbed Mr McFadyen with a kitchen knife at 4.43am on November 3 last year. Fernandes, who had failed his course at the University of East Anglia, had dialled 999 at 4.05am that morning requesting an ambulance to Mr McFadyen's residence in Layer Close, Norwich.
"He said to the operator that he wasn't sure what had happened but he needed help," Mr Carter explained. "He said his body was really tight, he said the others in the house were asleep. He gave his address, age and name and asked for an ambulance to come as quickly as possible."
Delusional beliefs
At 4.16am, Fernandes sent a message to a woman, Sarah McRoberts, which "said Terry had poisoned him and he thought he was going to die, he said he was sending her all of his money", Mr Carter stated. Mrs McRoberts was sleeping and didn't see the message until after the attack. Fernandes had transferred her £8,778 with the reference "Terry".
An ambulance reached the scene at 4.35am, with paramedics "met by Moses Fernandes who had come outside the house". Mr McFadyen and his partner Jenny Holmwood were "woken by the lights of the ambulance as it arrived". Mr McFadyen descended the stairs while his partner remained upstairs "as she was scared", with Fernandes appearing "deranged" and "like a madman".
Frenzied attack
Mr McFadyen and the paramedics successfully coaxed Fernandes back indoors, with Mr McFadyen entering the kitchen first, whereupon "before anyone could stop him the defendant grabbed a serrated knife from the drawer". Fernandes launched a "frenzied attack" on Mr McFadyen, stabbing him in the upper body, face and neck.
Both paramedics activated their panic buttons to alert police "shouting there was a knife", with officers notified at 4.44am and arriving at 4.48am. Fernandes "was heard muttering to himself 'he poisoned me, that's why'". Mr McFadyen suffered "at least 179 stab wounds" and succumbed at the location due to "massive and unsurvivable blood loss".
Victim impact
During a GP consultation on 23 October to assess his sleep medication, Fernandes harboured "beliefs, plainly delusional, that those he was staying with were trying to poison him". The judge noted Fernandes and Mr McFadyen "had been on good terms but Moses had recently begun to harbour the deluded beliefs" regarding poisoning and "that night Moses had a first psychotic episode".
In a victim impact statement, Mr McFadyen's daughter, Kelly McFadyen, described how her father had provided unwavering support following her son's suicide at 17 just six months prior. "At a time I needed his support, guidance and strength more than ever he was taken from me," she said.
Lucy Bennett, daughter of Mr McFadyen's partner, confirmed they "were not aware of Moses's mental health history". "Moses never shared his thoughts with mum," she said. "She would have supported him as a Christian and a retired mental health nurse."
