Motorist who deliberately killed father-of-three is detained in a psychiatric hospital

A motorist who deliberately killed a father-of-three on a motorbike after chasing him in a ‘random attack’ has been detained in a psychiatric hospital. 

Paul Barrett targeted father of three Ryan Brindley, 43, with his car in a ‘random’ and unprovoked attack in December 2021, a court heard.

Barrett took his mother’s VW Touran and drove it ‘erratically’ through the quaint village of Dinton, Wiltshire.

When he saw the motorcyclist coming in the opposite direction he abruptly made a U-turn and began to pursue him, pushing his foot down ‘fully’ on the accelerator to catch up with him.

Dashcam footage filmed from his car showed how he savagely ploughed into the back of the motorbike at a speed of 78mph, hurling his victim from his motorcycle and killing him instantly as he landed on the road.

Barrett’s car carried the motorbike along for a distance before he crashed into a wall where passersby found him minutes later and heard him saying, ‘I think I’ve killed him, haven’t I? ‘

The brutal attack came days after the motorist, who is bipolar, told healthcare professionals he ‘needed to be sectioned or die’.

He was in the midst of an extreme ‘psychotic episode’ and believed he was being pursued by ‘the State’, a judge was told.

Today Barrett appeared for sentencing at Winchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

Mr Justice Martin Chamberlain sentenced him to be detained at a psychiatric hospital and disqualified him from driving.

The court heard that the ‘erratic and random attack’ took place on the evening of December 22, 2021.

James Kellam, prosecuting, said: ‘Just after 7pm on the evening of December 22 2021, there was a loud bang on Hindon Road, a rural road in Dinton, Wiltshire.

‘People who went to the scene found the defendant sitting in his mother’s car. He had collided with a wall and between the car and the wall there were the remains of a motorcycle.

‘They spoke to the defendant who said, ‘I think I’ve killed him, haven’t I?’

‘Some distance down the road they found Mr Brindley’s already dead body.

‘The defendant, still in the seat of his car, said he had a mental breakdown. He said it was all his fault and that it would have been better if he himself had died.

‘He left his mother’s house at 6.20pm and was driving erratically, reaching speeds of 80 miles per hour. He drove repeatedly through Dinton.

‘It may be a coincidence but at 6.54pm, Mr Brindley filled up petrol at the same (Esso) garage. They are close to each other but there is no interaction.

‘It was the defendant who left the scene first having bought cigarettes. As the defendant was driving he passed Mr Brindley on the opposite side of the road.

‘He made a three-point turn and deliberately drove after Mr Brindley, catching up with him and driving into the back of his motorcycle, killing him instantaneously.

‘He was driving at 78mph and at the time of the collision his accelerator was fully depressed’.

The court was read a statement from Mr Brindley’s bereaved partner, Hayley Grand Scrutton, who described him as an ‘incredible human being’ and a ‘positive role model’ to his son, Ethan, and two step-sons.

She said the year she spent in a relationship with him was ‘the best’ of her life.

Ms Grand Scrutton said: ‘My eldest son is the man he is today because of Ryan. He was getting really close to Ethan and his two step sons.

‘I have previously told them he was the one puzzle piece missing from our lives. That piece is missing again’.

Mr Brindley’s son, Ethan, said in a statement: ‘There are some things I will never do with my dad. I will never go fishing with him or ride a motorcycle with him.’

Mr Kellam told the court that Mr Barrett had been diagnosed with Bipolar and repetitive depressive disorder in 2014.

On December 12, ten days before the brutal attack, he went to a local police station and told officers he was being ‘followed’.

In this period, he ‘strongly believed’ the whole village of Dinton was against him and told health care professionals that ‘state sponsored’ actors were ‘listening all the time’.

He told staff at Salisbury Hospital that he was having an ‘episode’ and warned: ‘I need to be institutionalised or die’.

On December 21, just a day before he killed Mr Brindley, a mental health nurse visited his home and determined that he was suffering from a ‘relapse of his bipolar disorder’.

Yet when asked at court whether Barrett could have been detained under the Mental Health Act, Dr John Sandford, an NHS psychiatrist who assessed Barrett in prison, said: ‘I don’t judge anyone because the defendant had no past experience of violence. It is an act of judgement.’

Issuing him with a hospital order under the Mental Health Act, Judge Chamberlain said he was ‘satisfied’ Barrett was suffering from a bipolar and that it was ‘clear’ this is why he acted in the way he did.

In a statement, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Childe, of Wiltshire Police said: ‘The killing of Ryan Brindley was an entirely random and unprovoked incident which has understandably caused shock and upset to the local community and all those who knew and loved Ryan.

‘The dash cam footage shows Barrett driving up and down roads in Dinton before spotting Ryan riding his motorbike alone, and then turning his vehicle and reaching speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph zone in order to catch up with him and knock him from his bike.

‘I would like to pay tribute to Ryan’s family who have suffered such a devastating loss, and thank them for the support they have shown during the police investigation.

‘Ryan was taken from them in the cruellest of circumstances and my thoughts remain with them at this extremely difficult time.’