An aspiring artist has been found guilty of murdering one of the UK’s wealthiest landowners and attempting to murder his own mother while being locked down with them at their Dorset mansion because of Covid.
Thomas Schreiber, 35, attacked Sir Richard Sutton, 83, in his study and followed the multimillionaire upstairs to deliver the fatal blows as he tried to call for help.
Schreiber repeatedly stabbed his mother, Anne Schreiber, 66, in the kitchen, injuring her so badly that she remains in hospital eight months later and is unlikely ever to walk again.
A jury at Winchester crown court heard Schreiber’s mental health deteriorated in the weeks before the frenetic knife attack, which took place on the eighth anniversary of his father, David Schreiber’s death.
Schreiber was deeply affected by his father’s death and felt hatred for Sutton and his “gold-digging” mother after she set up home with the landowner. He resented Sutton’s huge wealth, even though he took generous handouts from him, and felt he and his mother did not take his art seriously.
The idea of taking “revenge” on the couple built up when Schreiber, who had flitted from job to job throughout his adult life, was locked down with them during the Covid pandemic.
After the attack on 7 April, Schreiber took Sutton’s Range Rover and led police on a high-speed chase before officers carried out a “hard stop” in west London and shot him with a stun gun as he stabbed himself.
Schreiber admitted killing Sutton but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility and pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder his mother. Schreiber claimed a voice in his head shouted “attack, attack, attack” and he could not stop stabbing the couple.
The jury was told he had a history of major depressive disorder and alcohol misuse. It was also possible he may have had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which can lead to impulsive actions.
He had struggled with low self-esteem since he was a teenager and was deeply affected by the “complete hell” of his parents’ separation, believing his father, whom he doted on, had been badly treated. He told a psychiatrist that lockdown had been a “full frontal attack” on his mental health.
