Killer tried to cut out mother’s heart

A MAN who attempted to cut out his mother’s heart has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order for her manslaughter.

Mentally ill Kieran Gallagher, 32, thought he had strangled Bernadette Gallagher, 51, at her home in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, before he mutilated her.

Preston Crown Court heard, however, she was unconscious and probably alive when he used a kitchen knife to try to remove her heart but instead took out her left lung.

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Gallagher, of Whitworth Street, Manchester, was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia with a belief she was persecuting him when he launched the vicious attack.

Dennis Watson QC told the court days before the incident the victim phoned her sister to say she had been told that Gallagher had slashed his wrists. They took him to Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment but Gallagher ignored a doctor’s advice to stay in, after he denied he had further thoughts of self harm.

He was referred to mental health services and assessed, where he denied having hallucinations or paranoia. The court heard he had a history of self harm and of inflicting violence on others.

Mrs Gallagher was last seen alive by a neighbour at about 5pm on April 10 this year.

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Police found her body by her sofa at her home in Riverside on April 11. A post mortem showed she died from multiple stab wounds and had also suffered injuries to her eyes.

Gallagher pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at an earlier hearing.

Alan Wolstenholme, defending, said his client had experienced a “marked improvement” in his mental stability since his transfer from prison to Ashworth Hospital in Liverpool and was now able to express his “profound regret” for his actions.

Judge Anthony Russell QC said Gallagher would not be released without very careful consideration of his case.

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