The son of a man killed his mother by breaking a bottle and then wentuged her eyes during a country walk. This was because he believed she was a demon, according to a judge.
Daniel O’Hara Wright, 23 years old, suddenly turned against his mother Carole while they were walking together in Oxfordshire’s National Trust Beauty spot on October 23, 2013.
According to a jury, he told police that he removed her eyes because he didn’t want her staring at him.
According to the murder accusation, he fled from the scene and ran through a forest to a pond. There he left personal possessions including a jacket with one of his mothers eyeballs.
O’Hara Wright is currently being tried at Oxford Crown Court for murder.
On Monday, the jury was shown a photo of Carole and her son. It showed them happy together.
After Carole Wright’s remains were discovered on the National Trust estate, Watlington Hill was used as a base for forensic investigators
Last year, police officers looked after the location of a cordon that was in place at the Oxfordshire beauty spot.
Forensic officers gather evidence at the scene of the alleged murder at the Wallington Hill National Trust estate
O’Hara Wright then allegedly used a broken bottle and stick to murder his mother at Wallington Hill National Trust estate.
The court heard he then ran into a road and jumped on a passing motorist’s car before ‘car-jacking’ a horrified woman and forcing her to drive to the village of Christmas Common.
O’Hara Wright jumped from the car when they reached the village. He ran through the country, electrocuting his hand to the point that he had to have one of his arms amputated.
Alan Blake, the prosecutor, described how defendant broke into nearby farmhouse where its occupants were using a sauna.
He was found naked, with his bloody clothes on inside the bathroom. They called police.
The court heard Mr Blake tell it that although Daniel was not diagnosed with any kind of mental disorder, his family members had noticed an increase in unusual and erratic behavior.
“At one point during the walk it appears Daniel launched an aggressive attack against his mother, inflicting fatal injuries on her. He employed sticks, a broken bottle of glass and his feet.
He also pulled out both her eyes.
Blake described the incident in which the defendant “flung himself” at a vehicle as he tried to escape the scene. He also said that he’must’ have electrocuted himself and sustained injuries that required his arm amputated.
O’Hara Wright, who was using his sauna, found his way to Queens Wood Farm.
According to the prosecutor, it took some time for O’Hara Wright to be found in her upstairs bedroom.
Mr Blake added: ‘He was naked and responded to officers’ instructions to get on the floor but it soon became apparent that he had multiple serious injuries.
“One of our officers, PC Cartwright. He was then asked if anyone had been hurt. Initially he said nothing but then he said “I’ve hurt my mum”.
‘At 7.45pm that evening O’Hara-Wright was arrested on suspicion of murder. He responded calmly saying “that’s fine, I understand” before adding “it was kill or be killed”.’
An officer of the police guards the cordon surrounding O’Hara–Wright’s beauty spot. This is where O’Hara–Wright’s mother was allegedly killed.
O’Hara Wright suffered knife injuries to his neck and groin which are thought to have been self inflicted. He also needed an arm amputated after electrocutions.
O’Hara Wright was then taken to the hospital. He was found to have suffered knife injuries to his throat, groin and stomach. This was believed to be self-inflicted by a knife that he took from the kitchen at the property.
The accused, being kept in a secure hospital for the duration of the trial, won’t be there.
Jurors learned that O’Hara Wright assaulted and then attacked a hospital nurse while she was in the hospital. He also used a spoon handle to attack a cop before trying to kill himself.
The defendant was examined by two psychiatrists who concluded that the accused could have claimed to be insane at the time.
The court heard Mr Blake tell O’Hara Wright that O’Hara Wright believes he is God.
According to him, Dr Kennedy was instructed by the defense to conclude that Daniel has paranoid schizophrenia. He experienced a rapid and severe decline in his health within a matter of hours.
“Daniel had previously described paranoid delusions and visual hallucinations during the murder of his mother. He noticed the changes in her eyes.
“He hit her with the bottle, and then he smashed her head to make her blind. In Dr Kennedy’s expert opinion, Daniel believed that he was defending himself against an attack by a satanic being rather than a human being and he believed he himself was a God.’
According to the court, Carole was attacked by a glass broken bottle that contained kombucha. O’Hara-Wright is a large consumer of this herbal beverage.
Blake stated that the jacket contained semen, which led to Daniel’s DNA profile.
He allegedly ran away from the crime scene, running across wooded areas to a lake where he dumped his personal belongings. One of his eyeballs was in a jacket.
The court heard that although there was no evidence to support vaginal rape but the testimony of the defendant given to psychiatrists regarding the murder’suggests that a sexual element formed a part of his delusion.
O’Hara Wright also stated to the jury that O’Hara was compelled by demons to dominate him sexually.
Carole was found to have died from an acute upper respiratory obstruction, external neck compression, and blunt force injuries to her head, neck, and chest.
The obstruction of the upper airway was ’caused by an eyeball which had been pushed down into her throat’, the court heard.
Blake stated that the other eyeball was removed ‘traumatically’ and that there was an injury to the ribs most likely due to ‘a stamping motion’.
Ms Wright also suffered a broken nose and cheek bone, while further sharp injuries were ‘consistent with the use of broken glass, jurors heard.
O’Hara-Wright, of Uxbridge, west London, denies murder.
Mark Graffius, QC will lead his defense. He is likely to claim that he was not guilty of his actions and that he was merely insane at the time.
The trial is continuing.