SON WALKS BARE-CHESTED INTO PUB AFTER FATALLY ST*BBING HIS OWN MOTHER — AND HIS CHILLING ADMISSION TO THOSE INSIDE REVEALS A DISTURBING TURN IN THE FAMILY TRAGEDY! A mother’s life came to a devastating end at the hands of her own son, but what followed made the case even more unsettling. Instead of disappearing, he walked into a nearby pub without a shirt. What he told people inside immediately drew attention to the horrifying events that had unfolded. Yet the circumstances leading up to his unexpected appearance raise an even more troubling question about what happened behind closed doors.

A psychotic cannabis user who walked into a pub bare-chested after stabbing his mum to death with knives and a pair of scissors has been caged. Graham Daly, 45, subjected mum Phyllis Daly, 70, to a brutal assault at home in Maghull, Merseyside, leaving her dying on the kitchen floor before heading to the Stanley Arms pub on July 13, 2025. Liverpool Crown Court heard he walked in wearing only his shorts before threatening to rape a member of staff – when police arrived he confessed: “My mum tried to kill me today and I defended myself. I killed her.” Daly, suffering “paranoid, persecutory delusions” at the time, admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and last Friday was handed an indefinite hospital order.

The court heard Daly’s use of cannabis “was capable of exacerbating the severity and persistence” of his “psychotic symptoms.” Sentencing, Judge Neil Flewitt KC said: “The victim personal statements have all paid tribute to an exceptional woman and spoken with conviction of the devastating impact that her death has had on their lives.

“I cannot improve on the words of Phyllis’ daughter, who said ‘My mum, together with my dad, created a safe, happy home for us, built on a foundation of love. My mum was a kind, selfless lady who put everybody else’s needs before her own. She was love personified. She was the beating heart of our family’.”

The judge told Daly: “You have a history of poor mental health. When you committed this offence, you were living at home with your parents. Your parents loved you and did their best to care for you and support you. On the 13th of July, your father left the house to play golf, leaving you at home with your mother. You attacked and killed your mother.

“The only account you have given of what happened is that you believed your mother had tried to kill you, and you struck her in self-defence. That suggestion is clearly untrue and almost certainly a product of your mental illness. When your sister attended the house, she found your mother lifeless on the kitchen floor. Your mother was the victim of a sustained attack with at least two different weapons.

“Both doctors agree that your use of cannabis was capable of exacerbating the severity and persistence of your psychotic symptoms, but the evidence does not support a conclusion that your presentation was solely explained by intoxication or a substance induced psychotic disorder. I unhesitatingly agree with your family that you are a dangerous offender.”

The court heard Ms Daly was at home on the morning of Sunday, July 13, 2025, with her husband Dave having gone out to play golf. She was subsequently phoned by her daughter Angela at around 10.15am, with the two having “spoken to each other several times a day”, and later sent an email saying that she “wasn’t going to allow Graham to play his music so early”.

Prosecutor Peter Glenser KC described how neighbours heard arguing inside the home at 10.30am before Daly emerged before 11.30am “bare-chested and barefooted”, adding: “He was not running and did not appear, at the time, to be in distress. He made his way to the Stanley Arms public house. A witness describes being overtaken by him in his car on the way to the pub. He was driving very fast and had a traffic cone wedged underneath his car.”

Daly was wearing only shorts upon his arrival at the pub in an “extremely agitated state”, having had blood on his knuckles, arms and feet and with scratches noted to his torso. Mr Glenser added: “He spoke to two members of staff. His behaviour was very odd, and he was behaving irrationally and in a way which must have been alarming, saying he could take one of the two women around the corner and rape her and get rid of her body.

“He was heard to repeat that he had done something bad. Both women showed great presence of mind and courage. They calmly kept the defendant talking until the arrival of police officers.”

Daly told the PCs he “couldn’t remember what happened” but had “been on a bender and blacked out” before stating: “My mum tried to kill me today and I defended myself. My mother tried to kill me. She’s in the house. She tried to kill me and I had to defend myself.” Asked whether his “mum was ok”, Daly then replied “no, I killed her”.

Meanwhile, Angela Daly was worried for her mum and visited the family home at 12.45pm, finding Phyllis’ lifeless body lying face down on the kitchen floor. Mr Glenser told the court: “She was obviously already dead. She contacted the emergency services. Phyllis’s life was formally pronounced extinct at 1.24pm.”

A post-mortem revealed she was the “victim of a sustained attack with multiple weapons”, including two stab wounds to either side of her neck and a further eight puncture wounds and 25 incised wounds across her neck and upper limbs. Knives and a pair of scissors which were recovered from the scene were said to have been “consistent” with these injuries – while there was “evidence of a significant blunt force assault involving at least one weapon”, believed to have been a “golf club or golf clubs”.

Bruising on her neck was consistent with her suffering a “prolonged neck compression. The court heard Daly had a “history of mental health difficulties. Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Hasanen Al-Taiar said Daly was suffering from schizophrenia with symptoms of bipolar disorder.

He argued that Daly’s “paranoid, persecutory delusions” led him to “genuinely believe he was reacting to an imminent threat to his own life. Daly admitted manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility during an earlier hearing. Appearing remotely from Ashworth Hospital, where he has been held since his arrest, he wore a black Hugo Boss jumper.

Judge Flewitt also commended the actions of staff at the Stanley Arms pub for the “remarkable presence of mind they showed, in effect detaining or distracting Mr Daly” ahead of the arrival of police.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Nuttall, of Merseyside Police, said: “Phyllis’s family and loved ones have been left devastated by their senseless loss, and the circumstances surrounding her death have made it even harder for them to come to terms with what has happened. They have shown immense courage and dignity throughout the criminal investigation and the complex legal proceedings that have followed.

“No sentence or court outcome can ever bring Phyllis back. However, I hope that today’s court sentencing provides the family with some measure of acknowledgment of the harm that they have been caused. While this cannot end their suffering, I hope it marks an important step for them.”