Hospital order for Aylesbury man who killed his own father  

Courtnay Bamford, aged 37, of Griffin Place, Aylesbury, killed his 77-year-old father, John Bamford, on April 6, 2021. The younger man was suffering from a psychotic episode as he punched, kicked and stamped his father to death.

The defendant be admitted as a patient at Marlborough House, a facility in Milton Keynes, instead of going to prison, after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

There will be no time limit on his stay. He will only be released when the Ministry of Justice or a mental health tribunal rules that it is safe for him to re-enter society.

On April 6, 2021, Courtnay Bamford waited at his father’s home in Wendover. When John Bamford arrived, Courtnay Bamford launched an assault against the older man, punching, kicking and stamping on him.

John Bamford was killed in his own home in Wendover. NQ (Image: NQ)

Courtnay Bamford also wielded a heavy ornament, weighing nearly 5kg, and used it to batter his father.

Body-worn footage from the first police officers who arrived on the scene was played in the court, showing Courtnay Bamford letting the officers into the house after he had committed the offence.

When the officers asked Courtnay Bamford what his name was, he answered “Charlie Bravo”. When they pressed him further, he said he would not tell them more due to the “Official Secrets Act.”

After seeing the body on John Bamford in the kitchen, the officers asked if Courtnay Bamford knew who he was.

The defendant replied: “That’s Johnny Bravo, the man who set me up.”

At times during the video, the offender could be heard saying “it’s called justice.”

Describing the assault, prosecutor Matthew Walsh said: “The attack was frenzied and involved multiple blows. There were punches, kicks and stamps.”

John Bamford died from the injuries he suffered, which included a fractured spinal column, broken ribs and blows to the head.

The court heard how Courtnay Bamford suffered from delusional beliefs as a symptom of his mental illness. These delusions included believing that his father owed him money and that his father was planning to kill him.

The court also heard that Courtnay Bamford had told others that he was a millionaire and a member of the Royal Family.

The prosecutor also told the court how Courtnay Bamford was a long-time abuser of alcohol and drugs, including heroin, which aggravated his symptoms.

Defence barrister Jon Swain, representing Courtnay Bamford, argued that medical evidence suggested that opiate drugs reduced the psychotic symptoms of his condition.

Courtnay Bamford was sentenced at Reading Crown Court. NQ (Image: NQ)

Mr Swain added: “It’s very clear that this defendant was suffering from a very serious mental illness at the time this occurred, that he was in a very psychotic state.

“That is not something he should be blamed for, it’s a symptom of the illness.

“It’s clear that what happened that day would not have happened had he not been ill.”

During the hearing, which lasted two days, Judge Heather Norton heard evidence from two psychologists as she assessed the extent to which the defendant’s mental illness diminished his responsibility for his actions.

After considering the evidence, Judge Norton ruled that he had a low level of culpability for the offending. She also found that he was not guilty of murder.

Sentencing Bamford, Judge Norton said: “My understanding from the psychiatrists is that you were suffering from delusions as a result of paranoid schizophrenia.

“That illness is not caused by drugs or alcohol consumption.

“You would have acted on those beliefs irrespective of the effect of alcohol or drugs.”

She added that he currently posed a “serious risk” to the public.

As well as issuing the hospital order, the Judge also issued Courtnay Bamford with a restraining order against his mother, his brother, and his brother’s family.