TEENAGER WHO MURDERED PENSIONER IS JAILED FOR LIFE

A highly intelligent teenage killer feigned mental illness to try to get away with murdering a pensioner, a court heard yesterday.

Daniel Rounce sought to 'manipulate the process of psychiatric assessment' after stabbing Gerald Wickes in a random attack.

Rounce killed Mr Wickes, 79, with an eight inch blade after following his elderly ex-wife and sneaking into her home through an unlocked door in a killing which a judge said 'defies any explanation'.

Rounce, who was 17 at the time, was initially deemed unfit to stand trial due to mental illness and sent to a high security hospital in Nottingham.

But repeated assessments by medical professionals found no evidence he was suffering from any mental disorders and he was jailed for life yesterday after being found guilty of murder following a trial.

Ordering him to serve a minimum of 25 years at Leicester Crown Court Judge Timothy Spencer KC said jurors had seen through his attempts to cheat justice.

He said 'fluent and articulate' Rounce, who had been accepted at a high-performing grammar school, had told medical professionals he 'wanted to see what he could get away with'.

He said he rejected Rouce's claims he acted in a 'panic' and believed he had deliberately targeted the elderly.

'You were in control of events,' he said.

'When you were arrested by the police you said nothing. And that is a policy that continued right to the end, all the way to the jury's verdict.

'The jury saw through it all.'

Describing the murder as 'chilling', the judge added: 'This killing took place in the living room of what in effect was his own home - a home that was invaded and violated by you. This was a truly wicked act.'

Rounce, now 18, appeared disheveled in the dock with clumps of hair missing and a bloody nose. He was flanked by seven guards throughout his trial after a violent outburst on the first day.

The judge described him as the as one of the 'most difficult, manipulative and potentially disruptive' prisoners he had experienced in his long career as he commended security guards tasked with detaining him.

Jurors were told that on February 22 last year, Rounce followed Linda Love to her home in Eyres Monsell, Leicester, simply after crossing paths with her as she walked home from a lunch with friends.

Mr Wickes, who enjoyed a close relationship with his ex even though they were separated, had gone to visit and they were chatting together in the lounge when Rounce walked in.

He was 'calm' and 'ignored questions about what he was doing' before telling the terrified couple 'he would decide what happens next'.

He then stabbed Mr Wickes just once with a knife with a 19-and-a-half-centimetre blade. The weapon pierced Mr Wickes' heart and diaphragm and 'the point ended up near his kidney'. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite the efforts of his son Gary, who was upstairs, and Ms Love.

Rounce fled and threw the knife in undergrowth. He went on to change his clothes and was wearing a motorbike helmet when he was arrested several hours later which the judge said demonstrated 'calculated' behaviour.

The judge said: 'Gerald Wickes was no physical threat to you, as soon as you were close enough to him you plunged the knife in his chest: that was merciless.'

In October last year, Rounce was subject to a trial of facts after being deemed unfit to stand conventional trial by reason of his mental health.

But assessments while he was being held at Rampton secure hospital found he suffered from 'no thought disorder or delusional thinking' and was not suitable for admission to mental health hospital. It was therefore decided he could face a conventional trial.

The judge said: 'You have had frequent contact with mental health services but no mental health professional has ever been of the view that you have suffered a mental disorder of a nature or degree to warrant your transfer to a mental hospital.'

The judge told how in an 'unguarded moment' when asked why he had not cooperated with medical professionals 'you said you wanted to see what you could get away with'.

The judge said the admission showed Rounce had 'sought to manipulate certainly the process of psychiatric assessment and possibly more besides'.

He added: 'In the simplest of terms while you are on the autistic spectrum you are not mentally ill.'

The court heard that since the age of 12 Rounce has 'chosen not to engage or cooperate with any authority figure' and was living in supported accommodation because his mother could no longer cope with his violence.

Paying tribute afterwards, Mr Wickes' family said he was a 'doting' father, grandfather and great father who was 'one of life's helpers'.

His son Garry said: 'My dad was generous and kind and I know he brought happiness to a lot of people all through his life.' In a statement his grandchildren said: 'We love you always and miss you terribly.'

2024-04-16T21:43:32Z dg43tfdfdgfd