Brian Blackwell

Brian Mark Blackwell (born 1986, in West Lancashire) is an English man convicted of manslaughter. He killed his parents – 72-year-old Sydney and 61-year-old Jacqueline – at their home in Melling, a village in the northern suburbs of Liverpool, England, on 25 July 2004. Medical experts have since diagnosed Blackwell as having narcissistic personality disorder, which is characterised by extreme feelings of self-importance, a high need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.[1]

Early life

Blackwell was described as an "exemplary student" at Liverpool College and nicknamed "Brains" by his family. He created a web of lies about his life, including claiming he was a professional tennis player. To support his claims of wealth, he applied for thirteen credit cards in his father's name.

Killings

He killed his parents after they became suspicious about his increasingly lavish lifestyle and began asking him questions about it.[2] He beat both with a claw hammer and stabbed them repeatedly. After the killings, he took his girlfriend Amal on holiday to New York City, USA, where he spent £30,000, including the bill for a three night stay in the presidential suite at the Plaza Hotel. A week later he returned to school and found that he had earned As in all of his A-levels, which would have gained him a place at the University of Nottingham to study medicine in October.[3] However, the decomposing bodies of his parents were found in September. The attacks were so severe that investigators initially thought the couple had been shot.

During an interview, Blackwell claimed he knew nothing of his parents' deaths and was on holiday when they were killed. After two days of questioning, Blackwell's story began to change. He confessed to the killings and claimed that he had acted in self-defence. According to Blackwell, he was holding a claw hammer for hanging a picture on the wall when his father stood up to hit him. Investigators had previously learned that Blackwell's father had been struck on the back of the head while sitting down, which conflicts with Blackwell's claim of self-defence. Afterwards, according to Blackwell, his mother came in, and he attacked her.

Blackwell was charged with murder and was due to stand trial; however, that charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility after experts diagnosed him with narcissistic personality disorder. An episode of narcissistic rage can occur when the narcissist is perceivably being prevented from accomplishing his grandiose fantasies.[4] Blackwell was sentenced to life imprisonment on 29 June 2005. This was the first case in an English court in which narcissistic personality disorder had been found to be a defence to murder.[5]

Literature

See also

References

  1. ↑ L'Affaire Brian Blackwell ou La Rage de Narcisse
  2. ↑ BBC NEWS | UK | England | Merseyside | Son gets life for killing parents The prosecution told the court that "Blackwell's rage may have been prompted by his parents discovering his travel plans and thwarting them".
  3. ↑ L'Affaire Brian Blackwell ou La Rage de Narcisse
  4. ↑ BBC NEWS | UK | England | Merseyside | Son gets life for killing parents "The prosecution told the court that sufferers of narcissistic personality disorder typically flew into a rage if their fantasy world was challenged or threatened"
  5. ↑ L'Affaire Brian Blackwell ou La Rage de Narcisse

External links

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