Son, 23, who killed his father with a kitchen knife

Son, 23, who killed his father with a kitchen knife before trying to murder his own mother turns to his family and says ‘I love you mum’ as he is detained under Mental Health Act

•  Garvey Gayle, 23 stabbed his father Michael Gayle, 54 in Cardiff in 2020
• He is being detained indefinitely at Caswell Clinic under the mental health act
• His sisters told court on Monday that past three years had been a ‘horror movie’
• Mr Gayle turned to his family to say: ‘I love you mum’ as he left the dock in Wales 

Garvey Gale, 23, appeared in Cardiff Crown court today to face sentencing for killing his father and stabbing his mother in Cardiff at the end of 2020. 

Sentencing him under sections 37 and 41 of the Mental Health Act, Judge Fitton ordered that Gayle be detained indefinitely at the Caswell Clinic in South Wales.

As he left the dock, Mr Gayle turned to his family and said: ‘I love you mum. I’ll see you soon.’

Mr Gayle admitted manslaughter through diminished responsibility and attempted murder of his mother.

His remaining family have said ‘something must change’ after they spent years begging mental health services to help him.

Garvey Gayle had a psychiatrist tell the court he had  ‘treatment resistant schizophrenia’

Garvey Gayle stabbed his father Michael Gayle, 54, to death at his mother’s home in Cypress Crescent, St Mellons, Cardiff on October 16 2020.

Mr Gayle had been visiting the family home when his father arrived and he flew into a rage. 

Cardiff Crown Court heard Mr Gayle left the house but returned to ask his father for some water.

Prosecutor John Hipkin QC said: ‘The defendant got inside the house and picked up a knife up from the top of the fridge and began to stab Michael Gayle. At the start Michael Gayle had his back to him and his mother left to try and raise the neighbours for assistance.

‘She returned and was stabbed to the arm, stomach and side. She thought it happened inside rather than outside the house.’

Michael Gayle, a father-of-four was pronounced dead at the scene after enduring over 17 stab wounds.

Mr Gayle used the same kitchen knife to stab his mother, Amanda Brookes, 50, in the arm, stomach and her side, during a psychotic ‘rage’. 

Luckily, paramedics were able to save her after the attack.

Mr Gayle, then 21, fled his mother’s home and was later found by police at a petrol garage holding a Bible and introducing himself as Jesus Christ.

His sisters told Cardiff Crown Court during his sentencing on Monday that the past three years had been like a ‘horror movie’.

Mary Sia and Essence Gayle said: ‘There will never be enough words to describe the impact this awful life-changing tragedy has had on us as a family.

Mary Sia and Essence Gayle said: ‘Dad was a man like no other, truly one of a kind. He was the rock of our family on whom we all depended’

‘Losing our dad, and mum losing her partner under these unimaginable circumstances has been physically and mentally unbearable. The emptiness it has left us with is eerie and difficult to comprehend.

‘Dad was a man like no other, truly one of a kind. He was the rock of our family on whom we all depended.

‘As for mum, she has lost her life-long partner, soul mate and best friend of 34 years.’

‘What mustn’t be forgotten is that we’ve also lost Garvey. A son, a brother, an uncle, a grandson, due to the results of his mental health,’ they added.

‘Whilst the past two years have been a living nightmare, what some may not realise is that the three years prior were also an uphill battle that was never-ending.

‘We as a family did everything within our power to get Garvey the help he needed, I don’t know what more we could have done.

‘As much as it pains us to say this, we all said that without professional help, something like this was inevitable, but still nothing could prepare us for what happened that night.

‘It could have and should have been prevented.

‘It should never have come to this. It should never have taken for our dad to die for our brother to get the help he needed many years ago.

‘Our plea for help didn’t end the night we lost Dad.

‘It will continue until we are satisfied that no other family has to go through the same tragedy and suffer the loss that we have faced.

‘Lessons must be learned. Pro-action must take precedence over reaction. Something has to change.’

The court heard how Mr Gayle first had contact with mental health services in 2018 and was diagnosed with severe paranoid schizophrenia.

He had previous convictions for battery and criminal damage against Ms Brookes, with both incidents ‘related to his mental illness’.

He was first detained in January 2020 and was discharged in June, just five months before the fatal incident on his family.

After the killing he was found unfit to plead but having had months of treatment he was able to enter pleas of guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Gayle, due to diminished responsibility, and the attempted murder of Ms Brookes.

Dr Chandan Sehgal, who wrote some of the 21 psychiatric reports on Mr Gayle for the case, told the court the defendant had ‘treatment resistant schizophrenia’.

The consultant forensic psychiatrist said Mr Gayle suffers with ‘hallucinations, delusional beliefs and at times showed signs of hostility, aggression, threats and persecutory beliefs’.

Amanda Brookes (left), Garvey’s mother was stabbed three times and Michael Gayle (right) was fatally stabbed 17 times by his son, Garvey Gayle

Dr Sehgal said Mr Gayle continues to hear voices and believes that others are ‘out to get him’ and that he must ‘kill in order to preserve himself’.

David Elias QC, defending Mr Gayle, said: ‘The horrific acts that led to such tragic consequences speak for themselves and we are acutely aware of the anguish caused to the family.

‘It’s a credit to the family that they have recognised Garvey Gayle’s descent into mental illness before these tragic events is part of this tragedy.

‘Garvey Gayle was very ill at the time of these events.’

Prosecutor John Hipkin QC said Mr Gayle had been discussing moving back home with his mother after suffering mental health problems and living in a YMCA. 

He said: ‘She had had concerns due to his mental health about him staying with her but equally she had concerns about him returning to the YMCA.

‘She had taken the precaution of putting three knives on top of the fridge in the kitchen.

‘When Michael Gayle arrived the defendant indicated he was going to leave. He called his father terrible names and appeared in a rage.’

Judge Michael Fitton QC said some of the facts of the case would not be detailed during the hearing to ensure ‘the welfare of the family and the mental health care of the defendant’.

He added: ‘I am not here to comment on the defendant’s history and his care by psychiatric facilities.’

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