A brother strangled his sister then returned to her home in Leeds for a week after the killing to feed her pets as she lay dead in the lounge.
Leeds Crown Court heard James Cairns, 39, was regarded by friends as a “polite and quite” man who had never shown signs of violence.
But the court heard Cairns was suffering from schizophrenia when he strangled his sister Patricia Cairns, 43, at her home in Osmondthorpe Lane, Osmondthorpe, in January this year.
Cairns yesterday admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, sentenced him to an indefinite hospital order under the Mental Health Act.
Prosecutor, Simon Waley, said Cairns, of Buller Grove, Harehills, dialled 999 just before midnight on February 6 and told police he had strangled his sister Patricia on Saturday January 28.
Police broke in to Patricia Cairns’ home and find her body – which was covered in coats – in the lounge.
Mr Waley said officers then drove to Buller Grove, where Cairns told them: “We were smoking weed and she’s dead. What can I say. Throw the book at me.” Mr Waley said: “He (Cairns) said it was really important for him to do it, to kill somebody, or something worse would happen.”
The court heard Patricia Cairns, who also suffered from mental illness, had fallen asleep on a sofa when her brother lifted up another sofa and threw it at her, which caused her to scream. He then picked up a portable TV and threw it at her before starting to strangle her. Mr Waley added: “He (Cairns) said he had been back to her house in the week after the attack and fed her animals.”
In a statement read to the court, Brendan Cairns – the brother of James and Patricia Cairns – stated: “It has been a great shock and a tragedy to lose Trish. The fact our brother James was responsible has made it even more distressing. It feels like we have lost two members of the family. We all appreciate that James has been unwell and we also understand that justice needs to be done. However, we want James to receive the appropriate medical treatment and to get well soon.”