A paranoid schizophrenic slit his step-grandmother’s throat with a hunting knife because he believed she was a witch, a court heard.
Jonathan Griffiths, 23, admitted manslaughter after killing Janice Griffiths - also known as Rose.
The 59-year-old victim had raised Griffiths, who is being held at Ashworth Hospital in Liverpool, since he was a baby.
Sentencing him at Cardiff Crown Court, Judge Eleri Rees said: “It is shocking and tragic that she should die at the hands of someone she did so much for during her life.”
The court heard the incident occurred at their home at Ty Rhiw in Taff's Well, near Cardiff , on June 12 last year, Wales Online reported .
Michael Jones QC, prosecuting, said Mrs Griffiths was the defendant’s legal guardian.
The court heard Griffiths developed “significant mental health issues”, experiencing hallucinations and delusional perceptions.
Prosecutors said in the days before the incident, witnesses noted he was “agitated” and “muttering” quotes from the Bible.
Mr Jones said carpet fitter Dennis Martin Jones arrived at around 10.15am on June 12 and Griffiths’ behaviour made him feel “uneasy”.
He started work and heard Mrs Griffiths shout: “Help, he’s attacking me. He’s got a knife”.
The court heard the defendant was standing over his step-grandmother, who was on the sofa, with a large hunting knife.
Prosecutors said Mr Jones intervened with “considerable courage” by pulling him away.
Mr Jones told the court that the victim said: “Ring 999, he slit my throat.”
The witness described “a lot of blood” and said: “I was not able to believe what I saw next.”
He said Griffiths then twisted the victim’s head, as if he was trying to break her neck.
The court heard the defendant asked Mr Jones: “Is she dead yet?”
Prosecutors said the air ambulance arrived and paramedics found a “very deep” stab wound to the left side of her neck, along with defence-type injuries on her hands.
Mrs Griffiths was taken straight to the operating theatre at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff. A scan showed she had suffered a “devastating brain injury” and she was pronounced dead the following day.
Pathologist Dr Stephen Leadbetter found the cause of death to be sharp force injury to the neck.
Prosecutors said the weapon was a hunting-style knife with an 18.7cm long blade.
Griffiths was arrested at the junction between Cardiff Road and Cemetery Road. Asked if he had any weapons, he replied: “No, I left it in the house.”
He added: “I went back to rip her head off.”
The defendant was taken into custody in Merthyr Tydfil and then detained at the Caswell Clinic in Bridgend . He was judged unfit for police interview.
He told staff there: “She prophecised. That is why I had to do it. She is a white witch.”
Griffiths was taken to Ashworth Hospital and judged fit for interview on August 24, when he answered “no comment”.
Experts concluded there was diminished responsibility and the Crown accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter, with the charge of murder to lie on file.
The court heard Griffiths was convinced at the time that his step-grandmother was a witch.
In a victim impact statement read out in court, Nikki Hayman said: “Janice was a selfless person who would help anyone at any time.”
Neighbour Yvonne Woodward, who witnessed the incident and has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, said: “Nothing prepared me for the horror.”
Carpet fitter Mr Jones said: “One minute I was fitting vinyl in the bathroom, the next it felt like I was in the middle of a horror movie.
“My thoughts will always be with poor Janice who was defenceless against this violent attack.”
Giving evidence in court, Dr Inti Qurashi said: “He firmly believed that the victim was a witch.”
Judge Rees noted three experts agreed there was diminished responsibility.
She told the defendant: “[Mrs Griffiths] had brought you up since you were a baby.
“Effectively, she was your step-grandmother. Throughout your life, she had been enormously nurturing and supportive of you.”
The judge noted Griffiths had been suffering from “extremely poor” mental health for around a decade.
She commended Ms Woodward and Mr Jones for their courage in assisting Mrs Griffiths at the scene.
Judge Rees said: “There is no doubt this is a serious illness continuing to require expert treatment in a hospital setting.”
She found the defendant’s culpability was low, because the violence was attributable to acute psychotic symptoms.
The judge made a hospital order and a restriction order.
She said: “It may be that the defendant will remain indefinitely in a high security hospital.”
The restriction order will apply for the rest of his life. An order was made for the knife to be destroyed.
Judge Rees said: “I would like to express my sincere condolences to the family. One cannot imagine the horror of losing a loved one in this manner.”
In a statement issued after the sentencing, Mrs Griffiths' family said: "It has been an extremely upsetting time for all us, Janice’s family and close friends.
"The murder of our Rose has caused so much pain which we all feel was avoidable. The family would like to thank the emergency services who fought tirelessly to save Janice, also Martin Jones and Yvonne Woodward who were there to help Janice, the police investigation teams and especially our liaison officer Detective Constable Lisa Minto who has supported us above and beyond her job duty.
“A heartfelt thank you and appreciation for Janice’s local community for the help and support that has been shown to both Janice and the family, friends and neighbours throughout the last seven months. We, Janice’s family, friends and all who knew her for her large personality and supportive nature and character will miss her massively.
"If there is a heaven and God, our Janice will be an angel looking down on us all, knowing hell is only for the bad ones on this earth. Rest in peace our Rose.”
Superintendent Ceri Hughes, of South Wales Police , said: "Janice Griffiths was much loved by all her family and the community in which she lived, where she was well known for her friendly and bubbly personality.
"Janice’s family remain devastated by her loss, but have demonstrated great patience and dignity through their ordeal. I hope that Janice’s family can now begin to move forward in their lives. My thoughts remain with them all.
"I would like to thank all of the medical staff from the Welsh Ambulance Service, Wales Air Ambulance and the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff who battled to save Janice.
"Finally I would also like to thank the tremendously brave witnesses, who intervened that day in deeply traumatic circumstances. They did all they could to help Janice, with no regard for their own safety."
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