A man has admitted stabbing to death a relative of Sir Ranulph Fiennes at a Mortlake pub.

Your Local Guardian:

On the day he was due to stand trial at the Old Bailey for murder, Nicholas Hunter, 37, of Rodenhurst Road, Clapham, changed  his plea to guilty. His plea was accecpted and Hunter was given a "hospital order with a restriction order, which is without a limit of time". 

He admitted the manslaughter of James Fiennes, 49, at the Tapestry pub, in Lower Richmond Road, on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Mr Fiennes was stabbed with a pair of scissors at the pub shortly before 9pm on April 22, 2014, and died in hospital in the early hours of the following day.

Hunter was also accused of making threats to kill Thomas Olsen on the same date, to which he had pleaded not guilty.

This morning, Judge Gerald Gordon accepted the second charge would lie on file.

At the time of the killing, Hunter was working for Mr Olsen, who was his friend, at an engineering company in Barnes.

The court heard on his lunch break on the day of the killing, Hunter went to Sainsbury’s and bought a pair of scissors and, after work, went to Mr Olsen’s house before they both went to the pub.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson told the court Mr Olsen believed the defendant wanted to talk to him about something and the pair moved to a quieter area in the pub.

Ms Johnson said: “The defendant said ‘I am going to have a sex change’. The defendant then said ‘I should not have told you that, I’m going to kill you’.”

The court heard Mr Olsen told Hunter to sit down. Hunter then saw Mr Fiennes sitting at a nearby table and called out “Hi James”.

Ms Johnson said: “There is no evidence the defendant knew Mr Fiennes or knew his name. It may be an awful, nasty coincidence the defendant addressed him by his correct name.” 

Mr Fiennes, who was described by Tapestry staff as a “quiet, polite and generous man”, looked towards Hunter and asked where they knew each other from.

Hunter then said “I am going to have to kill you”, the court heard. Ms Johnson added Mr Fiennes thought it was a joke and made a gesture as if to unbutton his shirt.

Ms Johnson said without provocation the defendant “stabbed Mr Fiennes repeatedly”.

Hunter was restrained by customers and staff until police arrived and Mr Fiennes, who initially was able to stand, lost consciousness and was taken to St George’s Hospital.

When he was arrested and asked him name, Hunter shouted: ”God save the Queen.”

The court heard Hunter believed the world was going to end on the day of the killing and when questioned, was unable to explain why he stabbed Mr Fiennes, adding he “thought it was something to do with the impending end of the world”.

Hunter, who was suffering with schizoaffective disorder, was kept in custody before being transferred to Broadmoor Hospital in July last year, when he remains.

Ms Johnson said: “He said he was still having thoughts about a sex change and said at the time he killed Mr Fiennes, he wanted to kill the Queen.”

Mr Fiennes was pronounced dead shortly after 2.20am the following day and his cause of death was recorded as haemorrhage and scissor stab wounds to the heart.

Professor Nigel Eastman told Judge Gerald Gordon that Hunter has a “very serious mental illness” and said “it comes very close to insanity”.

He added: “If he was my patient, I would want him on medication forever potentially.”

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Fiennes’s wife Caroline, said: “The day I met James, on August 18, 1992, I knew I would marry him. We did marry on June 1, 1996. I loved him then, I love him now and I will love him forever. He was my best friend, my soulmate and my rock.

“He was kind, considerate, generous and intelligent. Above all, he was loving – he knew how to love.

“Anyone and everyone who met James described him as a gentleman in every sense of the word.”

Judge Gordon described Mrs Fiennes’ statement as “very, very moving”.

In a statement read to the court by his defence counsel, Isabella Forshall, Hunter said: “Not a day passes that I do not feel deep and profound loss for my actions.

“Words alone cannot express the sorrow I feel for the situation I have caused. I think of them [his family] and I pray for them. I am so very sorry for the tragedy I have caused.”

Delivering sentence, Judge Gordon said: “All the doctors agree you suffer from a schizoaffective disorder described today as a very serious mental illness.

“I have heard a clear, fair and detailed opening outlining your mental health history and the events of April 22 last year and I have also seen CCTV showing at least a significant part of those events.

“What you did was totally devastating for his family, as his wife’s personal impact statement makes very movingly clear.

“I should state I have taken in to account the ferocity of the attack and the person you attacked was a total stranger.

“This was a serious, unprovoked attack resulting in his loss of life. I am satisfied that if you are ever released, it has to be with the most careful and controlled monitoring as there is a real risk of serious harm if there were to be any further relapse.”

Hunter was given a hospital order together with a restriction order, which is without limit of time, meaning he will be hospitalised indefinitely.