The killer of Speke teenager Kelsey Shaw was not suffering from a “severe” personality disorder, a leading psychiatrist claimed today.
Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Laurence Chesterman told Liverpool Crown Court he “markedly disagreed” with the evidence of expert defence witnesses Dr Rajan Nathan and Dr Jonathan Shapero on the mental state of Callum Wilcocks, now 23.
Wilcocks, of Hale Drive in Widnes , throttled his on-off girlfriend to death at her friend’s flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes, on April 29 2011, after a row about them seeing other people.
He admits causing the 17-year-old mum of one’s death, but claims his condition meant he is only guilty of manslaughter, rather than murder.
Yesterday Dr Nathan said Wilcocks suffered from severe Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), characterised by chronic impulsiveness, difficulty controlling anger and repeated attempts at suicide and self harm.
But Dr Chesterman claimed Wilcocks did not present the “pervasive, persistent, frequent and severe” behaviours he would expect of a patient with severe BPD in 2011, when he was first assessed.
Wilcocks, who drank heavily and had a regular cocaine habit, did admit to having a “problem with women” and “being told what to do” by female prison guards.
Under questioning from prosecution counsel Simon Medland, QC, Dr Chesterman said: “I take the view that BPD is completely incompatible with the information available.
“A person with BPD in prison would not just be troublesome, they would display odd, disturbed behaviour. They would seem to be ill, prison officers don’t understand their behaviour and prisons aren’t equipped to deal with such individuals. They are frequently admitted into hospital.”
The court heard he spoke to prison guards at the time of the assessment, in August 2011, who described Wilcocks as “unremarkable.”
Dr Chesterman said he asked Wilcocks a series of questions which normally over-diagnose BPD, but still did not find sufficient evidence of the condition.
He said although Wilcocks claimed he would occasionally self-harm before Kelsey’s death, someone with severe BPD would normally be expected to have self-harmed up to “hundreds” of times.
Mr Medland asked him about Wilcocks’ behaviour in 2014, which the court heard became more severe and involved several suicide attempts.
The court heard the defendant was thrown out of a specialist unit for prisoners with personality disorders after four months for disruptive behaviour, including drug dealing, bullying sex offenders and arguing with staff.
Dr Chesterman said he believed Wilcocks was trying to appear mentally ill, and pointed to phrases he had used in clinical assessments including “I didn’t make a rational decision to kill her” and “I have negative ruminations.”
Callum Wilcocks
He suggested Wilcocks was deliberately exaggerating his problems and attempting to mimic clinical language. He said: “That is clearly not a phrase that an inmate normally uses.”
The court also heard patients with severe BPD cannot change or modulate their behaviour to suit different situations.
Gareth Evans, QC, defending, suggested that Wilcocks would also underplay his problems, telling doctors he had no issues when in fact he would be regularly involved in fights and clash with prison staff.
Dr Chesterman said: “Yes, his accounts were inconsistent.”
He agreed with Mr Evans that Wilcocks’ more recent behaviour showed stronger evidence of BPD, but claimed personality disorders can sometimes develop among prisoners.
The jury will be sent to consider their verdicts on Monday.
(Proceeding)
Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/