Woman 'butchered' victim hours after court release

A psychotic woman who "butchered" a defenceless disabled woman in her home hours after being let free by magistrates has been detained indefinitely in hospital.

Patricia Hewitt, 42, slashed and stabbed 56-year-old Angela Lloyd with a knife and scissors dozens of times after forcing her way into the victim's Newton Aycliffe home in August, Teesside Crown Court heard.

The victim's brothers said their sister loved life and was "killed in the most horrible, violent and terrifying way".

Heavily-convicted Hewitt, who hours before the killing had been given a suspended sentence by magistrates for a random assault, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Hewitt, from Stanley, County Durham, was arrested on 12 August 2025 for an "unprovoked" attack on a woman in Chester-le-Street, prosecutor Jolyon Perks KC said.

She appeared before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe the following day where she was given a suspended sentence and released at about 15:40 BST, the court heard.

Over the following hours, various people around the town expressed concern about Hewitt's erratic behaviour, which included her trying to get into a man's house, walking around semi-naked muttering to herself and stealing wine from a shop, Perks said.

Shortly after 18:00, two police community support officers (PCSOs) found Hewitt and spoke to her, offering her a lift home which she refused and walked away, the court heard.

At 18:31, Angela Lloyd made the first of three calls to Care Connect, an emergency service which assisted her at her home on Bakewell Place.

Her various health issues included a muscle wasting condition, for which she relied on a wheelchair and had carer visits four times a day, the court heard.

Despite her "health challenges", the devoutly religious 56-year-old "lived life to the full", Judge Jonathan Carroll said, with the court hearing she enjoyed regular excursions, sitting in the sun in her garden and supporting various charities, such as knitting clothes for premature babies.

She was also a "deeply loved and cherished" member of her "loving and caring family" and "enriched" the lives of many, the judge said.

The victim was also highly security conscious and would keep all doors and windows locked, apart from on hot days when she would leave her kitchen door unlocked to let her easily get into her back garden.

That day was "red hot", Perks said.

During the first Care Connect call, an operator struggled to make out what was being said but a later transcript revealed Angela Lloyd was "screaming for help" and saying she was "being stabbed to death", Perks said.

In the second and third calls which quickly followed, Hewitt could be heard shouting and swearing at her and asking "where's your money", the court heard.

A Care Connect responder got to her home at 19:25 at the same time as one of her carers doing a routine visit, the court heard.

They found her lying in a pool of blood on her kitchen floor clutching her alarm button in one hand and rosary beads in the other, the court heard.

A bloodied knife and pair of scissors were discarded near by and her assailant had left bloody prints as she fled through the living room window, the court heard.

Police and paramedics were called but the victim was declared dead at the scene, the court heard.

She was found to have suffered injuries across her head, neck and body from at least 47 "stabbing type actions" delivered in a "flurry" from various weapons, with her death caused by catastrophic blood loss, Perks said.

Hewitt, who had 122 offences on her criminal record including multiple incidents of violence and possessing weapons, was arrested in her sister's Newton Aycliffe garden at about 20:00, the court heard.

In statements read to the court, the victim's brothers said their dog and Disney-loving sister was "killed in the most horrible, violent and terrifying way" and, due to her disabilities, was "unable to defend herself and stood no chance against her attacker".

They said she would "not have known what and why it was happening to her", adding she "never harmed anyone" and "vile" Hewitt had attacked her for money.

"She didn't just kill Angela, she butchered her," they said, adding it was a "horror" to think of her final moments.

Hewitt would "still have the pleasure of chatting" to people and enjoying living, while their sister would "never have those luxuries and pleasures of life" again, they said.

The court heard Hewitt began taking illegal drugs when she was 14 and had a history of failing to engage with treatments and being detained in mental health hospitals for drug-induced psychosis.

After her arrest for the killing, two psychiatrists said she was in a state of psychosis at the time while probably suffering from schizophrenia, with her use of drugs not a major factor.

Her symptoms included paranoia, auditory hallucinations and persecutory delusions which would have "substantially impaired her ability to form a rational judgement and understand" her actions, the court heard.

Judge Carroll said he was "satisfied" she had a mental disorder and "public safety" would be better protected with her indefinite detention and treatment at a secure psychiatric hospital.

The length of her detention and any decision about her future release would have to be made by a mental health tribunal, the judge said, telling Hewitt: "You may of course never be released."

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