A PARANOID schizophrenic from Wrexham, who believed his mother was a 'German imposter', threatened to kill her in the midst of a heated argument, Mold Crown Court heard.

Malcolm Jones, 49, of High Street Rhos, appeared for sentencing at the court via videolink on Wednesday, January 26.

Jones had previously pleaded guilty to one count of a threat to kill made against his mother, June Taylor.

Prosecutor David Mainstone told the court that at around 1pm on August 18, 2021, Mrs Taylor had been drinking alcohol at her house in Wrexham with friend Jane Evans, with Jones also at the address.

After Mrs Evans had gone for a lie down, Mrs Taylor and Jones sat down to talk about the imminent release of her other son from custody.

Mr Mainstone said she had asked Jones not to encourage his brother to take heroin upon his release, as he had had problems with addiction previously.

Jones, who admitted to having drank 'three or four Jack Daniels and cokes and two or three glasses of Port' that day upon his arrest, became 'irate' at this.

The court heard that due to his schizophrenia he suffered from 'delusions about Nazis'.

He made his way to the kitchen and returned to where he had been sat with his mother carrying a knife with a four inch blade on it.

Jones was waving the knife around, while telling his mother; 'You're not my mum, you're a German imposter'.

He also told his mother that he was going to 'slit her throat' and, at one point, had held the blade just an inch away from her throat, leaving her 'petrified'.

Mrs Evans returned to the room during the argument and attempted to take the knife of Jones, but suffered a 'nasty laceration' to her finger as a result of the struggle.

Mrs Taylor called the police and, when they arrived, Jones put up no resistance to being arrested and gave a full admission upon interview.

In a victim statement, his mother said that she was 'worried about his mental health' and was 'afraid' he would hurt her.

Defending Jones, Dafydd Roberts said he could 'remain offence free' if he abstained from alcohol.

In his closing remarks, Recorder John Philpotts said that, although Jones' mum had later plead for leniency towards her son, he had to carry out his 'duty to the public' and sentence Jones.

He added: "You are a paranoid schizophrenic, as confirmed by the psychiatric report, and the combination of that - along with alcohol and a knife - is truly terrifying.

"Although your mother now seeks to retract her statement against you, I have a duty to the public and it is a duty which I shall not ignore."

Recorder Philpotts sentenced Jones to 52 months. Sixteen of those months will be custodial, and another three years will be served on licence.