Hospital Order for Nottingham man who killed his father

A 29-year-old from Lenton in Nottingham has been sentenced to a hospital order for the killing of his father in August 2022.

Rudi Marriott stabbed Brenton Marriott to death on the morning of 5 August 2022 in his house on Cloister Street. Mr Marriott had been to visit, as he did regularly to provide care and support for his son. He had returned from a short trip to a nearby shop when Rudi stabbed him 75 times with a knife in a three-minute attack.

After the killing, Rudi Marriott sought help from a neighbour, claiming he had been forced to defend himself. He did not, at first, acknowledge that his father had been involved in the incident.

Rudi Marriott was charged with Brenton Marriott’s murder. In his defence, he claimed he had been acting in self-defence. He was tried for murder, but following assessments from three psychiatrists, it was determined that his actions had been significantly impaired by previously undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia. He was therefore convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and was today given a hospital order with restrictions, which means he will be detained at a high-security hospital for treatment, and will not be released until either the Secretary of State for Justice or a First Tier Tribunal assess that he no longer poses a risk to the public under Sections 37 and 41 Mental Health Act 1983. 

Andrew Baxter from the CPS said: “Rudi Marriott used extreme violence in an unprovoked attack on his father. This was a frenzied attack.

“I cannot imagine how heart-breaking these tragic events are for this family, many of whom attended court throughout this trial. Losing a much-loved relative in circumstances such as this is a shocking thing to go through, and they also have to come to terms with the circumstances in which Mr Marriott died. My thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with them.”

Building the case

The task for the CPS was to prove that Rudi Marriott had not been acting in self-defence, and that he had acted intentionally when he attacked his father. The jury were given evidence at the outset of his mental ill-health and that the partial defence to murder of diminished responsibility was available to him.

A defendant cannot be charged with manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility as it is only a partial defence to murder. The prosecution must satisfy the court that the elements of the charge of murder are established. The prosecution therefore presented a case to prove those elements of murder and that when he attacked his father, Rudi intended to kill him or cause really serious harm.

Evidence from witnesses and CCTV showed the pattern of events that morning, demonstrating that Brenton was a regular visitor to the house, as part of his efforts to support Rudi. This evidence showed that Mr Marriott could not have posed any threat to Rudi so there was no cause for him to defend himself. The prosecution also presented evidence that Mr Marriott had returned from the shop with bottled water and had only had the chance to put this in the fridge before he was attacked.

Rudi was examined by three psychiatric experts, who all concluded that he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The evidence suggested that Rudi’s assertion that he needed to defend himself was a delusional belief resulting from this condition.

With compelling evidence that Rudi was suffering from this recognised mental health condition and that this significantly impaired his ability to form rational judgements or exercise self-control, the prosecution did not contest the partial defence of diminished responsibility.