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A teenager stabbed his mother more than 100 times before dialing 999 and calmly telling police to “bring a body bag,” an investigation heard.
Rowan Thompson, 17, had just returned from a jog with Joanna Thompson when she was attacked at her home in the Hambledon town of Hambledon.
The teenager strangled Ms. Thompson, a 50-year-old speech therapist, in her living room until she fell unconscious before stabbing her in the neck, forehead and arm.
At 12:45 pm on July 1 of last year, Rowan called the police and announced: “I just killed my mother … I strangled her and stabbed her with several knives and so on.”
Rowan was due to stand trial at Winchester crown court in October, but was found dead in a safe hospital in Greater Manchester a few days earlier. Police said the death was not suspicious.
Speaking outside of court, Rowan’s father, Marc, claimed that more could have been done for the teenager during stays in two mental health units before the attack. He said Rowan identified as non-binary, but was placed in a unit that segregated boys and girls.
Mr. Thompson said that Rowan was “concerned” and that the system had failed him. He said that Rowan had loved Ms. Thompson “to pieces” and knew the attack was wrong.
Before the attack, Rowan was never aggressive, he liked fencing, climbing, Rubik’s Cube and wanted to become an architect, Thompson added.
The investigation was informed that Rowan was visiting her mother over the weekend, having moved in with her father, a wizard, in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.
Rowan and her mother had “stressful” conversations about living arrangements the night before her death, the investigation in Winchester said.
In a clip of the 999 call being played in court, the teenager can be heard saying, “I just killed my mom. I need someone to stop me as that’s what you do and an ambulance would be fine. I strangled her and I’ve been stabbing her with various knives and all that. She’s not breathing … bring a body bag or whatever you do. I’m 99.9% sure he’s not breathing. “
The teenager told police that they felt “strange” and that they were on “automatic pilot” at the time of the attack.
Dr. Basil Purdue, a pathologist, concluded that although Ms. Thompson was unconscious, her heart was still beating when Rowan stabbed her 118 times.
Dr. John Sandford, a psychiatrist, said Rowan had minor autism, but added that there was nothing to suggest that the teenager was suffering from “abnormal mental functioning.”
But Mr. Thompson claimed that two other psychiatrists had “opposing views” and believed that the adolescent was “mentally disabled.”
Coroner Jason Pegg recorded an unlawful homicide verdict. Rowan’s investigation will take place in Manchester next year.
