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14/01/2009
'Prozac To Blame' For Attack
A teenager battered a man to death and tried to kill a woman after claims his personality had changed after he began taking Prozac, a court has heard.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies murdering Gary Belben, 59, and trying to kill Tanya Belben in Colcheste, Essex, in December 2007.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court heard Mr Belben had been hit over the head 30 times with a hammer and a crowbar. A knife was also used in the attack at the 59-year-old man's home.
Lawyers for the teenager say their client is only guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The court heard the youth had been prescribed the medication by a doctor after he complained of feeling depressed.
His lawyers argued the drug, which he had started taking a month before the attacks, had caused a "mental abnormality".
Martin Levett, prosecuting, said the teen - now aged 16 - had collected an "armoury" of weapons including a crowbar, hammer, kitchen knife and a steel for sharpening knives on the day of the attack.
Jurors would have to decide whether the teenager's mental state "substantially impaired (his) responsibility for the killing," Mr Levett told the court.
The trial continues.
(JM/BMcC)
The 15-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies murdering Gary Belben, 59, and trying to kill Tanya Belben in Colcheste, Essex, in December 2007.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court heard Mr Belben had been hit over the head 30 times with a hammer and a crowbar. A knife was also used in the attack at the 59-year-old man's home.
Lawyers for the teenager say their client is only guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The court heard the youth had been prescribed the medication by a doctor after he complained of feeling depressed.
His lawyers argued the drug, which he had started taking a month before the attacks, had caused a "mental abnormality".
Martin Levett, prosecuting, said the teen - now aged 16 - had collected an "armoury" of weapons including a crowbar, hammer, kitchen knife and a steel for sharpening knives on the day of the attack.
Jurors would have to decide whether the teenager's mental state "substantially impaired (his) responsibility for the killing," Mr Levett told the court.
The trial continues.
(JM/BMcC)
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