Man detained for vicar manslaughter

Geraint Evans, 24, repeatedly stabbed Father Paul Bennett on the afternoon of March 14 at St Fagan's Church, Trecynon, Aberdare, south Wales.

Evans, of Maes Rhydwen, Trecynon, was sentenced to indefinite detention at Ashworth Special Hospital after admitting the manslaughter of Father Paul at Cardiff Crown Court.

Father Paul lived at the vicarage with his wife Georgina, children Emma and Nigel and grandson John.

John Jenkins QC, prosecuting, told the court that Father Paul was attacked within two minutes of stepping outside to put the rubbish out.

He said: "The defendant stabbed him in the back while he was trying to run away. He had six stab wounds in his back."

Mr Jenkins said three psychiatric reports on Evans all said he was suffering from mental illness in March and the most likely diagnosis was paranoid schizophrenia.

The report said Evans's use of intoxicants might have disinhibited him but his mental illness was a highly significant factor. Toxicology reports revealed Evans had traces of alcohol, cannabis and by-products from butane gas in his body, and Judge Nicholas Cooke QC said Evans admitted long-term cannabis use.

The court heard that the murder weapon was a seven-inch combat-style knife that Evans bought from an army surplus shop in Pontypridd about a year before the stabbing.