Man in 'role play' plot to kill parents is detained indefinitely in hospital

Christoper Monks, 25, persuaded Shaun Skarnes, 20, to stab the couple while they were asleep at their home in Chorley, Lancashire. The plan was halted when Monks's father, also Christopher, woke to find Skarnes in his bedroom with a large kitchen knife and the couple managed to disarm him.

Skarnes, of Ellesmere Port, Merseyside, will serve an indeterminate term for public protection and cannot be considered for parole for at least three and a half years.

Mr Monks and his wife Elizabeth fully supported their son, who was adopted at the age of 10 months, at his trial in July and remain adamant he did not intend to take their lives.

They argued the sufferer of Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism, was unable to separate fantasy from reality. In a series of online exchanges, Monks told Skarnes he wanted his parents dead because he said they were over-protective and treated him like a child.

Both men argued they were acting as part of role play but a jury at Preston Crown Court disagreed and found them guilty of conspiracy to murder after barely one hour of deliberation.

Sentencing the pair at Preston Crown Court, Mr Justice McCombe said it was a "most unusual case".

Referring to Mr and Mrs Monks, he said: "No court could fail to be moved by the unstinting love they have for their son, notwithstanding the enormity of the offence he committed."

But he did not have the "slightest hesitation" in believing both men continued to present a "significant" risk of harm to the public.