A man accused of killing his Grindr date stabbed him 128 times after hearing “a voice in his head,” a consultant psychiatrist told a court in Lancashire, England.
Brian Healless allegedly killed 18-year-old Alex Davies, in Parbold, Lancashire, a small city located some 20 miles northeast of Liverpool.
According to the BBC, Dr Matthew Appleyard told the Preston Crown Court in Lancashire that the 18-year-old Healless, who was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, killed the victim after hearing a voice.
“The voice was saying [Davies] was lying to him and was going to harm him. He felt in fear of his life and was petrified,” said Appleyard.
“He repeatedly stabbed him because he still believed he was going to be attacked.”
The two teenagers met for the first time on April 29, 2019 after chatting on the gay hookup app Grindr.
According to investigators, on the day before their date, then-17-year-old Healless sent a message to Davies saying, “We can cuddle, just not in public, go to a more discrete spot… I’m not out yet and like to be discrete about it.”
Prior to their meeting, the alleged stabber looked up online how to wipe another person’s phone, and also searched, “How strong is the back of the skull?”
On the morning of April 29, Davies was spotted on closed-circuit footage carrying a backpack — similar to one that Healless was carrying later that day.
According to video footage, Healless had had the backpack previously.
Appleyard told the court that the defendant took a knife to the scene for his own protection. He said the Healless became feeling increasingly isolated at the age of 15, when he dropped out of contact with friends from
