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| Man found guilty of manslaughter for road rage stabbing of solicitor | Man found guilty of manslaughter for road rage stabbing of solicitor |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man with mental health problems has been found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility following the road rage killing of a retired solicitor. | A man with mental health problems has been found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility following the road rage killing of a retired solicitor. |
| Matthew Daley, 35, stabbed 79-year-old Donald Lock 39 times on the A24 at Findon, near Worthing, West Sussex, on 16 July last year. | Matthew Daley, 35, stabbed 79-year-old Donald Lock 39 times on the A24 at Findon, near Worthing, West Sussex, on 16 July last year. |
| Daley stabbed Lock after his Toyota crashed into the back of Daley’s Ford Fusion at about 16mph, causing minor damage to both cars. | Daley stabbed Lock after his Toyota crashed into the back of Daley’s Ford Fusion at about 16mph, causing minor damage to both cars. |
| Before the killing, Daley’s family had pleaded with clinicians to section him as his mental health declined, the trial heard. NHS chiefs have apologised to his relatives for not doing more. | Before the killing, Daley’s family had pleaded with clinicians to section him as his mental health declined, the trial heard. NHS chiefs have apologised to his relatives for not doing more. |
| At Lewes crown court, Daley was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. | |
| The crash occurred after Lock, returning from a cycling meeting, was forced to brake when Daley made an emergency stop. | |
| After a “calm” Lock got out of his car to ask why he had braked so suddenly, Daley knifed him while remaining calm “like Jesus Christ”, jurors heard. | |
| As Daley attacked him with a four-and-a-half inch blade, he allegedly told Lock to “die, you fucking cunt”. A witness heard Lock yell: “Help, help, get off me.” | As Daley attacked him with a four-and-a-half inch blade, he allegedly told Lock to “die, you fucking cunt”. A witness heard Lock yell: “Help, help, get off me.” |
| Another witness said Daley, who is being held in the medium-secure Hellingly Centre in East Sussex, looked “expressionless” during the attack, as if he were “having a passport photo” taken. | Another witness said Daley, who is being held in the medium-secure Hellingly Centre in East Sussex, looked “expressionless” during the attack, as if he were “having a passport photo” taken. |
| Passerby Andrew Slater tried to remonstrate with Daley, telling him: “Come on mate, leave it out.” But Slater retreated to his car when he saw a knife in Daley’s clenched fist. | Passerby Andrew Slater tried to remonstrate with Daley, telling him: “Come on mate, leave it out.” But Slater retreated to his car when he saw a knife in Daley’s clenched fist. |
| Lock, a great-grandfather who had recently been given the all-clear from prostate cancer, died at the scene. The cause of death was a stab wound to the aorta. | |
| The trial in front of Mr Justice Singh heard that Daley had experienced mental health problems for 10 years. | |
| His mother, Lynda Daley, told jurors that he was never given a proper diagnosis, they had not been listened to by health professionals and they often lived in a state of anxiety. | His mother, Lynda Daley, told jurors that he was never given a proper diagnosis, they had not been listened to by health professionals and they often lived in a state of anxiety. |
| Recalling the moment when she realised her son was suspected of the killing, she said: “I couldn’t believe it but, because of where it was, my heart sunk and all I kept thinking was, ‘We tried our best.’” | |
| His father, John Daley, broke down as he said the killing need not have happened had his son’s mental health been treated properly. | |
| “All our nightmares had come to pass and just unnecessarily because I know that people with mental conditions like this can be treated, people can be sectioned, people can have injections and these things do not need to happen. I am thinking to myself, this poor man and his family will have to live with my son’s actions for the rest of their lives,” he said. | “All our nightmares had come to pass and just unnecessarily because I know that people with mental conditions like this can be treated, people can be sectioned, people can have injections and these things do not need to happen. I am thinking to myself, this poor man and his family will have to live with my son’s actions for the rest of their lives,” he said. |
| “They will never be able to understand what happened, their lives have been ruined, my son’s life and expectations have been ruined, and it didn’t have to happen. | “They will never be able to understand what happened, their lives have been ruined, my son’s life and expectations have been ruined, and it didn’t have to happen. |
| “Had I been more assertive and angry in my dealings it might not have happened. I have always had a measured response with the authorities – it’s not the way to deal when you have a problem, you must shout and scream from the rooftops because being reasonable never gets an outcome.” | |
| In September 2013, John Daley wrote a letter to his son’s doctor, saying: “I am concerned [that] Matthew could end up hurting someone or worse unless he resumes taking his medication.” | In September 2013, John Daley wrote a letter to his son’s doctor, saying: “I am concerned [that] Matthew could end up hurting someone or worse unless he resumes taking his medication.” |
| In a further fateful prediction, he wrote another letter in March 2014 which said: “I am worried that it will end up with a fatality unless Matthew gets help with his obsessional behaviour and the voices.” | |
| Daley’s mental health decline stemmed from the breakdown of his parents’ marriage while he was studying architecture at the University of Portsmouth, the jury was told. | Daley’s mental health decline stemmed from the breakdown of his parents’ marriage while he was studying architecture at the University of Portsmouth, the jury was told. |
| Lynda Daley said he would often hear voices and hold his head “as if he was about to explode”. He sometimes grabbed the steering wheel while she was driving, causing her to swerve, she said. | Lynda Daley said he would often hear voices and hold his head “as if he was about to explode”. He sometimes grabbed the steering wheel while she was driving, causing her to swerve, she said. |
| In an attempt to help combat his illness, Daley would run a couple of marathons a week, spending hours on the Downs, often with his pet goats. | In an attempt to help combat his illness, Daley would run a couple of marathons a week, spending hours on the Downs, often with his pet goats. |
| One expert said that when Daley first came to the attention of mental health teams, it was deemed that he had schizophrenia, but the diagnosis was later revised to autism. | One expert said that when Daley first came to the attention of mental health teams, it was deemed that he had schizophrenia, but the diagnosis was later revised to autism. |
| A week before the trial, the chief executive of Sussex Partnership NHS foundation trust apologised to Daley’s family, saying its care of him should have been better. | |
| Of the apology, Lynda Daley said: “It’s 10 years too late.” | Of the apology, Lynda Daley said: “It’s 10 years too late.” |
| She went on to say Daley confessed to the killing just as she was about to enter a police station amid fears that he may be involved. | |
| He told her: “I need to know where you are and that I can trust you.” Daley then said he had done “something really bad or something really wrong”. | He told her: “I need to know where you are and that I can trust you.” Daley then said he had done “something really bad or something really wrong”. |
| In a quiet voice, he said “I killed someone”, before adding: “I want you to think about what I just said and ring me back in 10 minutes.” | In a quiet voice, he said “I killed someone”, before adding: “I want you to think about what I just said and ring me back in 10 minutes.” |
| It emerged during the trial that the night before Lock’s death, Daley paid a prostitute between £60 and £80 for sex in Brighton. | |
| Following the stabbing, Daley parked his car at Woodlands Stables in Patching, where he had been helping out. He was arrested the next day near Worthing golf course with a blood-stained knife in his bag. | Following the stabbing, Daley parked his car at Woodlands Stables in Patching, where he had been helping out. He was arrested the next day near Worthing golf course with a blood-stained knife in his bag. |
| Daley did not give evidence at the trial. In a recorded police interview, he spoke in detail about the moments leading up to the confrontation. | Daley did not give evidence at the trial. In a recorded police interview, he spoke in detail about the moments leading up to the confrontation. |
| He described feeling “threatened and afraid” as he claimed that Lock had tailgated him while allegedly shouting obscenities from behind the wheel as Daley looked in his rear-view mirror. | He described feeling “threatened and afraid” as he claimed that Lock had tailgated him while allegedly shouting obscenities from behind the wheel as Daley looked in his rear-view mirror. |
| “I just saw someone very close and very angry, and I wanted that scenario to stop because it was intrusive,” Daley said. | |
| “I’m not happy that the man has died. I’m not happy that in the final minutes of his life he was in that much pain, and I don’t want to be reminded of it. | “I’m not happy that the man has died. I’m not happy that in the final minutes of his life he was in that much pain, and I don’t want to be reminded of it. |
| “I feel very sorry about what I have done and I don’t want to see anything like that happen in my lifetime again.” | “I feel very sorry about what I have done and I don’t want to see anything like that happen in my lifetime again.” |
| While on remand, Daley tried to send a letter to the BBC. In it, he offered a further account of what happened after the crash. | While on remand, Daley tried to send a letter to the BBC. In it, he offered a further account of what happened after the crash. |
| “I didn’t want to look at his angry face so I turned towards my driver’s door and just put my feet on to the road,” he wrote. “I could feel the other cars all stopping behind me. When I looked out of the door, I could see him shouting and swearing. | |
| “Because of my autism, the other sounds were silent. He walked fast up to me wearing bright colours. About a metre and a half away, I stood up, moving his aggression away from me.” | “Because of my autism, the other sounds were silent. He walked fast up to me wearing bright colours. About a metre and a half away, I stood up, moving his aggression away from me.” |
| His younger sister, Rebecca Daley, described the killing as “everything we feared would happen over the last 10 years”. | His younger sister, Rebecca Daley, described the killing as “everything we feared would happen over the last 10 years”. |
| And his father recalled how he knew instantly that his son was involved in Lock’s death after reading news reports while on holiday in France. “My heart sunk in my boots and I thought ‘My God, it’s come to pass’, he said.” | And his father recalled how he knew instantly that his son was involved in Lock’s death after reading news reports while on holiday in France. “My heart sunk in my boots and I thought ‘My God, it’s come to pass’, he said.” |
| The forensic psychiatrist Dr Roderick Ley said he believed that Daley had been wrongly diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and that he had an underlying paranoid schizophrenic illness, which was undiagnosed for years. | The forensic psychiatrist Dr Roderick Ley said he believed that Daley had been wrongly diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and that he had an underlying paranoid schizophrenic illness, which was undiagnosed for years. |
| Another expert, the consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph, said Daley was not psychotic at the time of the killing, pointing to the absence of audio hallucinations as an example. | Another expert, the consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Philip Joseph, said Daley was not psychotic at the time of the killing, pointing to the absence of audio hallucinations as an example. |
| Listening to the evidence throughout the trial was Lock’s wife of 55 years, Maureen, and their son, Andrew, who sat opposite Daley’s family in the public gallery. | Listening to the evidence throughout the trial was Lock’s wife of 55 years, Maureen, and their son, Andrew, who sat opposite Daley’s family in the public gallery. |
| A woman was led from court in tears as the verdict was announced by the jury forewoman. | A woman was led from court in tears as the verdict was announced by the jury forewoman. |
| Daley sat emotionless in the dock flanked by two people. | Daley sat emotionless in the dock flanked by two people. |
| Singh adjourned sentencing to 8 July. |