Middlesbrough man killed by neighbour who wrongly believed he had raped him as a child
Richard Matthews has been detained indefinitely after he stabbed innocent Paul Wells over completely false beliefs
Paul Wells
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A Middlesbrough man was stabbed to death by a neighbour who wrongly believed he was a paedophile who raped him as a child.
KILLED: Paul Wells A MAN from Highbridge who killed his neighbour while mentally unwell has been handed an indefinite hospital order. Richard Matthews was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today (Friday, April 16) after pleading guilty at a previous hearing to one count of manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Paul Wells, 39, was stabbed by Matthews on the afternoon of Thursday, June 25, and pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Wells’s family, in a statement read out in court, described him as an amazing man and said he is sorely missed. They said: “(Paul had) a beautiful soul with friends all over the world.
KILLED: Paul Wells A MAN from Highbridge who killed his neighbour while mentally unwell has been handed an indefinite hospital order. Richard Matthews was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court today (Friday, April 16) after pleading guilty at a previous hearing to one count of manslaughter by diminished responsibility. Paul Wells, 39, was stabbed by Matthews on the afternoon of Thursday, June 25, and pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Wells’s family, in a statement read out in court, described him as an amazing man and said he is sorely missed. They said: “(Paul had) a beautiful soul with friends all over the world.
A man who stabbed his neighbour to death in an horrific case of mistaken identity has been detained indefinitely in hospital.
Richard Matthews killed Paul Wells after wrongly believing he was a sex offender who raped him as a child, Bristol Crown Court heard today.
The court was told how Matthews was convinced he was the victim of a child abuse ring aged 10 and accused Wells of historical abuse when he moved in next door to him in Highbridge, Somerset.
Today, the defendant, 45, was sentenced after admitting one count of manslaughter by diminished responsibility following the attack on June 25 last year.
Man killed neighbour he wrongly accused of raping him as a child
Richard Matthews stabbed innocent Paul Wells in the neck and chest over completely false beliefs, court told
Updated
Paul Wells was found dead in a garden on Edithmead Lane in Highbridge on June 25 last year (Image: Family handout)
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