GUILTY UK - Sir Richard Sutton, 83, murdered, Anne Schreiber, 65, wounded, Dorset, 7 Apr 2021

[Tortoise]

12:09pm

Jurors are being talked through the location where the incident took place.


12:10pm

Sir Richard had been estranged from his wife for nearly 20 years, says Mr Feest QC. He was living at Moorhill with his partner Anne Schreiber.


12:13pm

The day all this happened was the eighth anniversary of the death of David Schreiber, the defendant's father, says the prosecutor.


12:14pm

Aerial video footage of Moorhill, where Sir Richard, Anne Schreiber and Thomas Schreiber lived, is being played to the jury.


12:23pm

The prosecutor is now running through the floor plan and layout of the property.


12:25pm

Police went as an armed response team as it was known there was a registered gun cabinet on the property.

Mr Feest QC said the cabinet was secure and there is no suggestion the defendant used a firearm.


12:31pm

Mr Feest QC has finished discussing the geography of the property and he is now running through the family trees of Sir Richard Sutton and Anne Schreiber.


12:33pm

Thomas's father David Schreiber, who was seperated from Anne, died on April 7, 2013.


LIVE: Prosecution opening continues in murder trial over death of millionaire

 

[Tortoise]

12:34pm

Mr Feest QC: This is a family where there were tensions between this defendant and his mother and Sir Richard, as well as this defendant and his sisters.


12:35pm

Anne and David Schreiber's separation in around 2002 and 2003 was caused at least in part by the latter's alcoholism.


12:36pm

They had been friendly with Sir Richard and his wife for many years.


12:36pm

Sir Richard's wife had gone back to her native Italy at the time.


12:36pm

Sir Richard invited Anne Schreiber and her children to move to Moorhill, which they did.


12:37pm

Mr Feest QC: As is often the case when parents separate, the Schreiber children had and still have differing perspectives and loyalties in relation to this. The defendant very much took his father’s side.


12:38pm

The defendant felt he was treated differently by his mother and Sir Richard compared to his two sisters, particularly in relation to money, the prosecutor says.


LIVE: Prosecution opening continues in murder trial over death of millionaire

 

[Tortoise]

12:39pm

The prosecution say the defendant's persistent emotions and his enforced stay at Moorhill during lockdown in early 2021 were "significant" in the "explosion of violence" by him on April 7.


12:39pm

Mr Feest QC said on two occasions prior to April 7, the situation boiled over into episodes of violence.


12:40pm

Family members noticed the death of the defendant's father had an adverse impact on him, the court is told.


12:41pm

Thomas Schreiber's relationship with his mother throughout the period was "problematic on both sides", says Mr Feest QC.


12:43pm

The first violent incident was around Christmas 2019, Mr Feest QC says.


12:43pm

On the way home from Wincanton races an argument had started on the way home over the defendant not offering to drive, with his sisters feeling he acted selfishly, the court is told.


12:46pm

The defendant had a "tussle" with his sister Rose before his sister Louisa and her husband Joe intervened.

The argument continued before Sir Richard intervened, who swung at him with his fist but missed. The defendant reacted by swinging back at Sir Richard and hitting him.

The next day the family discussed the incident and appeared to have resolved things.


LIVE: Prosecution opening continues in murder trial over death of millionaire

 

[Tortoise]

12:46pm

In March 2019, the defendant underwent a course to try to deal with some of his issues about the family.


12:47pm

"A complicated family background," says Mr Feest QC.


12:48pm

The prosecutor said the defendant's girlfriend Sathia Pagliuca found he would have highs and low.


12:48pm

"It was clear to Sathia that he felt alone against his family but also there was a deep rooted hatred against them," says Mr Feest QC.


12:49pm

Mr Feest QC says Ms Pagliuca described the defendant using derogatory terms about Sir Richard, such as “stupid old person”, and didn't appear to pay him any respect.

"She felt he seemed like a wounded young man with the problem about his father and that the family had dropped his father in order to go with a person like Sir Richard," says the prosecutor.


12:50pm

Sir Richard expressed frustrations about the defendant not looking for work and livng rent free at Moorhill, the court is told.


1:00pm

Mr Feest QC is talking through some message exchanges the defendant had with a friend over the gift situation.


1:02pm

The prosecution shows this expresses a pervasive feeling of being picked on by the defendant which fed into all other emotions he had.

"Feelings of revenge, feelings of hatred and no doubt a context for what happened on April 7," says Mr Feest QC.


1:02pm

And we are now pausing for the lunch break.

We will be back shortly.


LIVE: Prosecution opening continues in murder trial over death of millionaire

 

[Tortoise]

He described his mother as a "gold-digger" and said he thought Sir Richard was "horribly backward and horribly English".

"The embarrassing situation for me is that I'm dependant financially on his money. I can't even be in the same room as my family," he said on the recording.

[...]

Mr Feest told the jury an account from Ms Schreiber had described being in the kitchen and hearing a "commotion" coming from the study before turning around to see her son holding a kitchen knife.

She described his eyes as "terribly, terribly determined" before she was stabbed.

Sir Richard Sutton: Thomas Schreiber 'resented' family

 

[Tortoise]

2:32pm

The prosecutor begins by looking at the second episode of violence in the years/months leading up to the fatal incident in April.


2:32pm

This took place towards the end of 2020 on November 15.


2:33pm

Anne Schreiber suggested to Louisa that she might have one of their grandmother’s chandeliers during a discussion at a family gathering.

At that suggestion it seems the defendant lost his temper, Mr Feest QC says.


2:35pm

Sir Richard stepped in following another "tussle" between two of the Schreiber siblings.

The defendant had slapped his sister Louisa and her husband Joe pushed him out of the way.

Sir Richard, who until then had been in the background, stepped in and hit the Defendant once across the back with his walking stick, the court heard. This caused the stick to break


2:37pm

Sharing his thoughts on this incident the following day, November 16, 2021, in messages with others, the defendant said he was "the scapegoat".

2:44pm

A lengthy voice note message sent by the defendant to a friend is played to the jury.

2:48pm

He described the events of the previous night as "pretty horrible".

The defendant said his sister "charges at me and goes absolutely mental".

He said Sir Richard hit him in the back with a "cheap shot".

He went on to say the "horrible thing is it wasn't me who started the physical fight".

The defendant says his sister had not apologised and described her as "toxic"

"The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous," the voice note said.

He went on to say: "When I do something wrong its GBH and when they attack me I just deserve it, that's what mum said to me this morning, I deserve it."

The defendant said "we are talking pure hatred, in their eyes last night was pure hatred".

2:49pm

In early 2021, in response to his girlfriend asking about his mother, she recalled the defendant saying: "I would like to get a gun and shoot a bullet in my mum's face and Richard’s."

As it happened: Murder accused thought he had killed his mother and her partner, court told

 

[Tortoise]

2:50pm

Discussing a discussion that stuck in the defendant's girlfriend's mind, Mr Feest QC said: "In March 2021, she recalls the defendant asking her if he were to do something to his mother and Richard what would she do. She responded, well she would tell everything to the police."

2:51pm

"As the pandemic progressed, these feelings and the underlying hatred he felt towards his mother and Sir Richard appeared to become more prominent," says Mr Feest QC.

2:53pm

The prosecutor said talking about his mother in a message to a another person, the defendant said: "She is a selfish, manipulative gold-digging *****"

2:56pm

The court is told of further messages from Thomas Schreiber which said "the level of hatred they have for me and the hatred I have for them is huge."


2:56pm

In a message on March 9 to a frined, the court hears he wrote "I'm so sad to report that my mind is consumed with hatred of the very worst kind towards my family. They really hurt me betrayed me and destroyed all trust.

"Simply put I contemplate murdering them all morning day and night. It's not what I want to think about but it's the truth. I want them to suffer.”


2:58pm

The prosecutor says earlier in the year, on January 26, the defendant sent a message to a friend which said "to tell you the truth I actually want to murder Louisa Richard and mother, it's that bad.

"They've shown their true colours since the fight a few months ago pushing everything under the carpet and burying their heads in the sands of guilt.

"Everything is festering under the surface, eating away at me like a cancer. Continuous lies fakery and betrayal is the order of the day here at home.

"I despise the feeling of hatred and how it takes a hold of me. Even with meditation and exercise it's always there in the subconscious unconscious mind eating away at me."


3:04pm

The jury is told that on September 21, last year, the defendant sent a message which stated: "I have a plan which I'm working on. There are many holes in it but it's a plan nonetheless. Revenge is at its heart which I'm sure I'll regret but it's about time."


3:05pm

In March 2021 there were internet searches for revenge on "gold-digging mother" and "gold-digging family", says Mr Feest QC.


As it happened: Murder accused thought he had killed his mother and her partner, court told

 

[Tortoise]

3:06pm

On the night of April 6, the day before the fatal episode, Mr Feest QC said the defendant searched online for "how to overcome deep-seated desires for revenge".


3:07pm

A message thread with a frined in February 2021 ended with the defendant writing "it’s hard to explain the deep emotion of family and with what’s happening is betrayal, gold digging deceit and extreme selfishness... when its your own mother followed by siblings it’s very hard to accept that”, Mr Feest QC tells the court.


3:07pm

Mr Feest QC is now moving on to the events on the day of April 7, 2021.


3:10pm

Of all the Schreiber children, the defendant was the closest of them with their father, said Mr Feest QC.


3:12pm

The day before, April 6, 2021, the defendant had been mistaken about the date of his father's death, the court is told.


3:14pm

The court is told Thomas Schreiber sent a message to his sister Rose, saying: "Raising a glass to Dad who passed away 8 years ago today. RIP.

"You remember right? Your real father David, not the one who “bought you” who you call your father #cupboardlove."


3:16pm

In a message exchange between the defendant and his girlfriend at around 4pm on April 7, there was a discussion about him thinking about the Queen song "I Want to Break Free" and him feeling apprehensive of the imminent future, the court is told.


3:19pm

Mr Feest QC tells the jury they will need to focus particularly on the time period from around 6.30pm on April 7 at Moorhill.


3:21pm

When police examined the property on the morning of April 8 they found the landline in the study on off its hook. The running time for it showed the handset had been off the receive since shortly after 6.30pm, the court it told.


3:21pm

"It is around that time that everything must happen," says the prosecutor.


As it happened: Murder accused thought he had killed his mother and her partner, court told

 

[Tortoise]

3:21pm

Sir Richard, Anne Schreiber and Thomas Schreiber were the only people at Moorhill during this period, says Mr Feest QC.

3:22pm

Anne Schreiber is the only eye-witness of the events that night but police did not obtain her account until the end of June based on medical advice, the prosecutor tells the court.

3:22pm

Mr Feest QC said she remains in hospital.

3:27pm

The prosecutor has provided details on Anne Schriber's account of the attack on her.


3:45pm

"Had it not been for the intervention of the police officers and paramedics at the scene, she would not have survived those injuries," says Mr Feest QC.

3:45pm

On arrival at hospital in Bristol, she was "cardiovascular compromised", the court is told.

3:49pm

The court is told when Ms Schreiber was taken out of theatre she had been given around 27 litres of blood products - the human body holds between four and six litres.

Mr Feest QC said it was difficult for medical staff to quantify the total number of her wounds.

3:51pm

There was no injury to any of the major organs but despite that these wounds had caused "extensive and sustained blood loss", the court is told.

Mr Feest QC says medical notes refer at different points to 13 or 15 separate injuries.

3:53pm

Mr Feest QC: "What else, other than to kill his mother, could he have intended to do as he stabbed her time and time again?"

3:53pm

He believed he had killer her and told people this immediately afterwards, the prosecutor says.



As it happened: Murder accused thought he had killed his mother and her partner, court told

 

[Tortoise]

3:55pm

A friend of Sir Richard's daughter was driving through the village of Cucklington at around 7pm and saw the defendant at the wheel of a green Range Rover, which she recognised.

3:58pm

A voice message left to a close frined of the defendant has been played in court. The defendant can be heard saying "I’m so sorry, I’ve made a mistake and let my emotions get the better of me. This is the last time you’ll ever hear from me.

He goes on to say: "I’ve let my anger get the better of me and I’ve killed my mother and I’ve killed her partne. I can’t stop the hatred and it’s become too much, the denial and the deceit and the lies and I had to take actions, it’s awful and I’m so sorry."

4:00pm

Further messages are being played on a similar theme in which the defendant apologies, says he has killed his mother and Sir Richard and says he let his emotions get the better of him.

4:05pm

Mr Feest QC says the first thing that the defendant's girlfriend became away of anything that evening was when she received a notification from her bank that £30,000 had been transferred into her account with a message "love from Thomas".

4:06pm

Following a telephone call with the defendant, his girlfriend called police to express her concerns, the court is told.

4:07pm

Mr Feest QC says body-worn video footage will now be shown to the jury of the police response at Moorhill.

4:25pm

The jury is shown a series of videos of the police entering and searching the address.

4:30pm

That concludes today's court proceedings. The prosecution's opening is set to continue tomorrow morning.



As it happened: Murder accused thought he had killed his mother and her partner, court told

 

[Tortoise]

In March 2019 the defendant was persuaded by his mother to attend a four-day residential course to try to deal with some of his issues about the family. The therapist Francis Lickerish said he presented as “a very angry young man who struggled with the grief of the loss of his father and his father’s alcoholism”. Lickerish felt he was “very bitter and hurt, raging in anger underneath, which he managed to control most of the time”.

Feest said lockdown increased tension on both sides and Sutton was frustrated that Thomas Schreiber was not looking for work, was living rent-free and was using cars without asking.

In late 2020 Sutton offered to give Schreiber £10,000 for a car but the defendant believed this was not enough money and thought his sisters were being given larger sums, the court heard.

Sir Richard Sutton killed by partner’s son in ‘explosion of violence’, court told

 

[Tortoise]

Just a reminder, the defendant is 35 years old. I thought he was about 22 years old as I was reading all of this.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Just a reminder, the defendant is 35 years old. I thought he was about 22 years old as I was reading all of this.

Which begs the question.....why didn't he just get a job and move away from them? I mean, he is after all an adult.

 

[Tortoise]

Which begs the question.....why didn't he just get a job and move away from them? I mean, he is after all an adult.

His sense of self-entitlement is off the scale. Ironically he called his mother a gold-digger! What a hateful brat. Even sending him packing wouldn't have guaranteed their safety by the sounds of it. I'm sure I read in the beginning he had a flat in London. I really don't see why he didn't just move out, but he probably expected them to pay for his expenses no doubt.

 

[Kasmeer]

There's got to be some mental/developmental issue there, surely, to have so little independence at 35? I mean, I'm a similar age, with autistic spectrum issues that make me not very independent and rather immature, yet... I don't live with people I hate or blame everyone else for being unable to control my feelings All the while I was reading that I was just thinking, get a job and move out, it's not hard, if you're not disabled in some form!

I will say if there's any truth in the walking stick incident, then he wasn't the only one who acted badly in that family, but he didn't have to stay there if he hated it so much, it's not like a much younger adult, where it'd be more understandable to have limited confidence to take such a big step. Despite my above paragraph I suspect there's no disability in play and it's just "spoilt brat" syndrome, in which case it's a shame his much missed father didn't teach him to be a reasonable human being. In any case, no sympathy here unless some diagnosis is mentioned prominently...

 

[Tortoise]

No live updates that I can see. Just this article in the Sun

"In a rambling call to his sister Rose's voicemail Schreiber said: “You’re a fantastic sister even though you’re a liar and a gold digger just like your mother. You will always be part of me.

"I’m so sorry for all my mistakes. But the lies and the consistent lies have become too much.

"I will always love you, you're a fantastic person, you're intelligent, you're smart and basically I want you to be happy and I’m sorry because I couldn’t take the lies anymore and I couldn’t take the hatred anymore."

[...]

Schreiber's girlfriend Sathia Pagliuca received a notification she had received £30,000 with a note saying 'Love from Thomas', the jury heard.

She texted him to ask “what have you done?” and “I cannot have all this money” before speaking to him just before 7.30pm.

Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, told the jury: "The defendant was crying and told his girlfriend that he had 'f****d up', was covered with blood and had killed 'Mum and Richard'.

"He told her that he was going to kill himself and, when she sought to persuade him to go to the police instead, said 'should I spend the rest of my life in prison?'."

Son's voicemails to family after 'stabbing mum and murdering her lover'

 

[Tortoise]

Adam Feest QC, prosecuting, said: "Once the Range Rover had been forced to stop, the defendant remained in the driver's seat but appeared to be stabbing himself with a knife."

Police tasered and dragged him from the car to prevent further injury, Mr Feest said, adding that Schreiber shouted to police: "Shoot me, I don't want to live."

The jury heard after being treated in hospital for his injuries, Schreiber told police he loved his mother and Sir Richard, adding: "It's all very regrettable now."

In a phone call made from prison while awaiting trial to his sister Louisa Schreiber he told her it had been "complete madness", he had "lost control" and it was not him but "demons", Mr Feest said.

Sir Richard Sutton: Thomas Schreiber was drunk and snapped, court hears

 

[Tortoise]

Mr Feest said that a post-mortem examination of Sir Richard's body and an investigation of the "extensively blood-stained scene" suggested that he was attacked downstairs at the house.

He then managed to go upstairs, possibly to make an emergency call, where, after a "pause" in the violence, he was attacked again and died.

[...]

Ms Schreiber was found by police severely injured in the kitchen of the property.

Mr Feest said: "She recalls that the defendant lifted the knife up and must have stabbed her, although she does not recall actually being stabbed but does remember looking at the knife in her and being surprised that it did not hurt more, and saying something like 'what are you doing?'

"Anne described this experience as feeling like a bystander looking through a window. [...]

Man accused of murdering millionaire hotelier 'urged police to shoot him'

 

[Satchie]

His sense of self-entitlement is off the scale. Ironically he called his mother a gold-digger! What a hateful brat. Even sending him packing wouldn't have guaranteed their safety by the sounds of it. I'm sure I read in the beginning he had a flat in London. I really don't see why he didn't just move out, but he probably expected them to pay for his expenses no doubt.

I feel sorry for families with, usually a son, like this. Spoilt, dependent, and blames everyone else for his own sense of inadequacy/self hatred.

However, it seems a toxic bubble going way back: apparently the alcoholic biological father also lived on the estate, in his own cottage, until he died. Sir Richard Sutton killed by partner’s son in ‘explosion of violence’, court told

The adults should certainly have addressed this long before it got to this stage, there was violence and expressions of hatred long before he exploded. It shouldn't have been tolerated and allowed to fester. Lease him an apartment somewhere and refuse to allow him back home until he can be civil.

Just in general, I'm interested in family systems and IMO, sending one person to therapy isn't a solution, the others have to go as well.

The articulate, talkative young man, the overly-fond mother, the usurper stepfather, the father's ghost, the sort-of girlfriend: sounds exactly like the plot of Hamlet. And that ended with pretty much everyone dead, too.

 

[Tortoise]

Report from yesterday from the Dorset Echo - no live tweets to copy so restricted to 10%


"The prosecution called its first witnesses in the trial on Wednesday afternoon.

One Boxing Day a few years before the incidents... Louisa Schreiber found the defendant on top of Rose, with his hands around her neck. The incident was calmed and the defendant underwent a weekend of anger management.

...in November 2020, an argument between the family broke out when Louisa Schreiber was offered her late grandmother’s chandelier by her mother, Anne Schreiber. "Tom got very cross and said I would like you to talk to me about that before you start offering our family's furniture,” she said. "I got really upset and launched forward and slapped him round the face. "It continued into the hallway. Tom punched me round the face. Then my partner pulled Tom off, they went into the conservatory, then it stopped."

Man accused of Sir Richard Sutton's murder was told to "do something meaningful" with life