Woman with bipolar disorder beat her neighbour to death with a metal pole

Woman with bipolar disorder beat her neighbour to death with a metal pole and left her body beneath a bird bath in her garden because she thought people were 'out to get her'

By Richard Spillett, Crime Correspondent For Mailonline

Published: 16:29 BST, 21 May 2019 | Updated: 16:32 BST, 21 May 2019

View
comments

Sue Atkinson was savagely beaten to death by her neighbour, who was in the grip of paranoid psychosis

Sue Atkinson was savagely beaten to death by her neighbour, who was in the grip of paranoid psychosis

A paranoid woman with bipolar disorder beat her neighbour to death in her own garden and left her body lying beneath a stone bird bath, a court has heard.

Sherry Moore attacked 64-year-old grandmother Sue Atkinson with a metal pole because she believed she was under threat from people who were 'out to get her', prosecutors say

Moore, from Hull, had reportedly been admitted to psychiatric hospital at least 12 times, but was not taking medication at the time of the attack.

The 55-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. A judge today postponed her sentencing.

A psychiatrist has recommended Moore is subject to a hospital order with a restriction meaning she cannot be released without the approval of the secretary of state.

Prosecutor Patrick Palmer said victim Mrs Atkinson, a retired nursery nurse, had told a friend she had seen 'increasingly bizarre behaviour' from her next-door neighbour, who she described as 'very strange'.

On October 20 last year, she had been volunteering for Hull City of Culture events during the day and arranged to meet a friend that night but did not turn up. She was found in her garden the next day by a friend.

Mrs Atkinson had become increasingly concerned about neighbour Sherry Moore

Mrs Atkinson had become increasingly concerned about neighbour Sherry Moore

Troubled killer's history of violence
NEXT Doctors first 'dismissed' this young girl's cancer symptom before her parents ... trends now