A man with paranoid schizophrenia escaped from a mental health unit and fatally attacked his father an hour later, a court has heard.
Daniel Harrison, 37, punched and kicked Dr Kim Harrison, 68, during a sustained assault at the family home in Clydach, Swansea.
Harrison had become increasingly paranoid and believed that his mother, Jane, was in danger from her husband and needed protection.
Swansea Crown Court heard Harrison had been detained under the Mental Health Act at Neath Port Talbot Hospital just 10 days before the assault because of a “severe” assault on his parents.
His mental health had deteriorated since 2018 and he had stopped taking his medication.
Harrison, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia aged 22, fled the ward on the afternoon of March 12 this year when a nurse using a swipe card opened a secure door.
He pushed past her and ran from the hospital and caught a taxi into the center of Clydach before walking to his parents’ house in Conniston Hall.
Ward staff called Mrs Harrison to warn her that her son had run away, and she and her husband locked all the windows and doors, fearing for his safety.
When she arrived, Mrs. Harrison went to the library to call the police and as she made the call, she heard her husband open the back door to let their son inside.
William Hughes QC, prosecuting, said: “He heard no voice or noise during the five minutes he was in the library.
“She went into the kitchen and there she saw her husband lying on his back. She could see he had shocking facial injuries.”
After the attack, Harrison fled on foot and took a bus to Swansea railway station where he caught a train to London and was arrested two days later.
Harrison told police he felt “manipulated” by his parents and that his father had caused him “trauma.”
“He said he attacked his father by punching him in the face and then throwing him to the ground and hitting him in the head,” Hughes said.
“She also told police she had used a broom handle she found lying on the floor. She also said she stood on her father’s throat with her shoes on and stamped on his face with the heel of the shoe
“When he assaulted him, he told police he had shouted abuse at his father calling him ‘f***** c***’. He later said he had tried to kill his father.”
Harrison, a retired pulmonary fibrosis specialist, died April 9 of blunt force trauma to the head and neck.
The defendant had denied the murder but admitted to the manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Judge Paul Thomas QC imposed hospital orders under section 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act, meaning Harrison will be detained indefinitely in a secure unit.
In a statement after his death, Dr Harrison’s family said: “Kim was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, a man of great patience, modesty and integrity.
“Kim was a well-known and respected doctor who went out of his way to make sure his patients were always given the best care.”