Life for knife thug who told aunty: You will die tonight

A MAN who issued a chilling threat to his aunty before repeatedly stabbing her - in an attack described as being like something from a ‘horror movie’ - has been jailed for life.

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Adrian Smith tried to kill his mother's sister after telling her: “Sorry, but you are going to have to die tonight.”

He claimed he heard a ‘voice’ telling him: “You need to kill [her] or I’m going to kill you. A court heard Smith, 29, suffered with deteriorating mental ill-health over a number of years.

On one occasion, he went to his family’s home with a can of petrol and threatened to burn it down. On another, he walked along the M60.

Smith was previously detained under the Mental Health Act, but was discharged without accommodation, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He had previously been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder.

Weeks before the attack on his aunty, Smith became convinced his dad was dead and refused to believe otherwise, despite recently seeing him.

The day before the attack, he visited his aunty and told her he was hearing voices, adding: “People on the streets of Manchester telling me to do things.” He said the voices were telling him to ‘kill his mum and dad’.