A 20-year-old man who beat his father to death with a hammer and attacked his mother and younger brother in their Brighton home had been suffering hallucinations about killing people, Lewes Crown Court heard on 12 February.
Fabio Botros pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Emad Samir Botros Farag, 57, along with wounding his mother with intent and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm to an 11-year-old boy. He was handed an indefinite hospital order.
The court was told Fabio Botros believed the people he killed in his hallucinations 'would be brought back to life.' He collectedChucky dolls from the Child's Play series, in which a possessed doll murders people.
Emad Samir Botros, his father, a Deliveroo driver and deacon at the St Mary and St Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church in Hove, died from catastrophic head injuries at the family home on Hartfield Avenue, Hollingbury, on 1 April 2025.
Neighbours had called emergency services after hearing screaming shortly after 7am.
Ryan Richter, prosecuting officer, told the court that the family had been waiting for a taxi to the airport that morning. They were due to fly toEgyptfor a holiday.
An argument broke out between Fabio Botros and his father over baggage allowance. What happened next was sudden and savage.
Fabio Botros grabbed his father by the throat and struck him over the head with a hammer, the court heard. Screams came from the kitchen. When his mother tried to intervene, Fabio Botros opened a drawer, took out a large kitchen knife and stabbed her in the face. She suffered a fractured skull. The 11-year-old brother was hit on the head with the same hammer.
Police arrived to find Emad Botros Farag inside the property with wounds he would not survive. Officers arrested Fabio Botros close to the address and recovered two knives and a hammer.
His mother and brother were treated at the scene and taken to the hospital. Both were discharged within days. The physical injuries healed. Everything else is harder to measure.
Source: International Business Times UK
