Man beheaded his mother because he thought she was a reptile
A man beheaded his mother because he thought she was a reptile, a judge has been told. James Dunleavy decapitated his mother Philomena then left her body in a shallow grave in the gruesome attack that followed a row in Edinburgh in spring 2013. Dunleavy, 41, was jailed for nine years after a jury heard he chopped his 66-year-old mother’s arms and legs off. The court heard that Dunleavy was a psychopath who wanted to see inside his mother to see if she was impersonating a human, according to the Scotsman. He was found not guilty of murder but a jury found that he was guilty of culpable homicide due to diminished responsiblity. Consultant psychiatrist Khuram Khan told the court: ‘He believed his mother was a reptile and the only way to check was to look inside her body.’ He will serve his sentence in a mainstream prison after assessments said his psychological problems could be treated with medication.