'If pleas for help had been taken seriously, Rudi may not have killed his dad'

UNCLE TELLS HOW MENTALLY-ILL NEPHEW AND FAMILY TRIED TO ACCESS HELP BEFORE TRAGEDY

- JOEL MOORE

THE brother of a man stabbed to death by his mentally-ill son says Nottingham mental health services and police failed to take family concerns seriously before the tragedy.

Brenton Marriott, 58, died after being stabbed 75 times by his son Rudi in the kitchen of his home in Cloister Street, Lenton, on August 5, 2022. Rudi, who has paranoid schizophrenia, believed his father had put a microchip in his neck.

He was sentenced to a hospital order last April after a jury cleared him of murdering his father, but found him guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Brenton’s brother Delvin Marriott said the family had been trying for years to get Rudi help with his mental health, which began deteriorating after he was violently attacked around 10 years ago. The then teenager was hit with a baseball bat and had dogs set on him, hospitalising him for weeks.

“He became very agitated and frustrated. It changed his personality and he complained of hearing voices in his head,” said Delvin.