JamesWhitehead
Piffle Prospector
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2001
- Messages
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[Emp edit: A general thread for people who think God made them kill (this has been split off from the Occult Deaths thread as a recurring theme was emerging).
See also:
www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16585 ]
Double Axe Murder Christian Freed
Source
Dad who axed family is freed
A DEVOUT Christian who axed his elderly wife and disabled daughter to death so they would finally be at peace walked free from court today.
Frank Hallsworth, 71, and his 69-year-old wife, Daisy, had devoted their lives to caring for their daughter Fiona, who was virtually confined to a wheelchair due to physical and mental problems.
But as he and his wife grew older, Hallsworth realised that Fiona might have to go into a residential home and she could probably be permanently sedated.
"I couldn't stand the thought of us dying and leaving her," Hallsworth told police. "I didn't want her to go into a residential home because nobody loved that child more than Daisy and me, nobody."
Hallsworth, who has five other grown-up children, decided the only way his wife and 33-year-old Fiona would finally be at peace was to kill them. And one night last May, as Daisy and Fiona were sleeping, he armed himself with an axe, whispered that he loved them then beat them to death.
"It was my way of solving the problem," he said later. "I loved them both and wanted my wife and daughter to be at peace".
Hallsworth wept today when he walked free after admitting the manslaughter of the pair on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Judge Sir Rhys Davies, jailed him for nine months at the city's Crown Court but because Hallsworth had been in custody since May he was released immediately.
"This is indeed one of those cases properly regarded as tragic," said the judge.
"You could not bear the thought of you and your wife dying and leaving Fiona alone and I have no hesitation in accepting you loved them both.
"That led you to make a terrible error of judgement and although it's accepted your responsibility was diminished there are many people who deal with having to care for someone unable to care for themselves."
The judge was told Mr and Mrs Hallsworth cared for Fiona at their home on Homelea Rd, Droylsden after their other children left home.
Fiona had "immense energy" and strength and weighed nearly 16 stones, but Hallsworth and his wife were committed to her care.
One night last May he rang the emergency services and admitted killing the pair by hitting them about the head with an axe.
Police arrived and Hallsworth, still dressed in his blood-spattered pyjamas said: "I am not a violent person".
Hallsworth, said prosecutor Anthony Morris QC, described his wife as "absolutely solid gold" and said the killings were "his way of solving a problem because he could not see any other way of doing it".
And Roderick Carus QC, defending, said Mr Hallsworth was a man of exemplary character who worked hard for charity and the Church and whose other children were standing by him.
See also:
www.forteantimes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=16585 ]
Double Axe Murder Christian Freed
Source
Dad who axed family is freed
A DEVOUT Christian who axed his elderly wife and disabled daughter to death so they would finally be at peace walked free from court today.
Frank Hallsworth, 71, and his 69-year-old wife, Daisy, had devoted their lives to caring for their daughter Fiona, who was virtually confined to a wheelchair due to physical and mental problems.
But as he and his wife grew older, Hallsworth realised that Fiona might have to go into a residential home and she could probably be permanently sedated.
"I couldn't stand the thought of us dying and leaving her," Hallsworth told police. "I didn't want her to go into a residential home because nobody loved that child more than Daisy and me, nobody."
Hallsworth, who has five other grown-up children, decided the only way his wife and 33-year-old Fiona would finally be at peace was to kill them. And one night last May, as Daisy and Fiona were sleeping, he armed himself with an axe, whispered that he loved them then beat them to death.
"It was my way of solving the problem," he said later. "I loved them both and wanted my wife and daughter to be at peace".
Hallsworth wept today when he walked free after admitting the manslaughter of the pair on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Judge Sir Rhys Davies, jailed him for nine months at the city's Crown Court but because Hallsworth had been in custody since May he was released immediately.
"This is indeed one of those cases properly regarded as tragic," said the judge.
"You could not bear the thought of you and your wife dying and leaving Fiona alone and I have no hesitation in accepting you loved them both.
"That led you to make a terrible error of judgement and although it's accepted your responsibility was diminished there are many people who deal with having to care for someone unable to care for themselves."
The judge was told Mr and Mrs Hallsworth cared for Fiona at their home on Homelea Rd, Droylsden after their other children left home.
Fiona had "immense energy" and strength and weighed nearly 16 stones, but Hallsworth and his wife were committed to her care.
One night last May he rang the emergency services and admitted killing the pair by hitting them about the head with an axe.
Police arrived and Hallsworth, still dressed in his blood-spattered pyjamas said: "I am not a violent person".
Hallsworth, said prosecutor Anthony Morris QC, described his wife as "absolutely solid gold" and said the killings were "his way of solving a problem because he could not see any other way of doing it".
And Roderick Carus QC, defending, said Mr Hallsworth was a man of exemplary character who worked hard for charity and the Church and whose other children were standing by him.