Margate electrician with dementia to be kept in secure mental health unit after killing wife

An electrician was ordered to be held in a secure psychiatric ward after cutting his wife’s throat, believing she was Lucifer and had poisoned him.

Emergency services uncovered a “shocking and horrific scene” after Abdelaziz murdered El Msseyah, of Godwin Road, Margate, Souad Bellaha, 56, at her home.

However, the 58-year-old was later ruled unfit to plead as he suffered from delusions due to dementia.

Judge Philip Statman told Maidstone Crown Court today it was hard to imagine “a more harrowing and disturbing case”.

“The hallmark of a civilized society is how our justice system deals with people suffering from the most serious mental illnesses,” the judge said.

“Prior to the diagnoses, the defendant was always a hard-working member of the community and a man without conviction

“His delusions were evident from the moment he was arrested. Unfortunately, the great tragedy of this case at the end of the day, as we all know, is that we have no cure for dementia.

“It is an incredibly sad case for me to deal with and of course I must acknowledge that this disease progresses to the extent that the defendant attempted suicide on a previous occasion.”

The judge said Bellaha was a well-loved woman, a hardworking member of the community, and a talented and gifted artist and designer.

He added, “It is difficult for any court to imagine a more harrowing and disturbing case.”

The judge today issued an order under the Mental Health Act which means the accused must now remain in a secure unit until the Home Secretary decides it is safe to release him back into the community.

El Msseyah was arrested after police were called to his wife’s home on January 28, 2021 and found her body slumped next to the bathtub with her throat cut and the knife on her chest.

Prosecutor Johnathan Polney, the 999 operator, asked, “What happened?”

He replied, “I killed my ex-wife, my wife.”

The operator asked, “Why did you kill your wife?”

And El Msseyah replied: “There are many reasons. Many reasons for that.”

In a note he left, he wrote: “I know very well that no one will understand why I reacted in this way because they don’t know how she is doing (Truth, Lucifer, Evil).

“She’ll suck all your energy and throw you in the trash. This is my story and I don’t know how many before me.

“I have decided to stop doing this and not to harm anyone anymore. I lived with her in hell for 12 years.

“I was manipulated by those years. I knew something was wrong with her behavior. I was blind (in love) with her because she (treated) me very well…then we got married and she took me to the UK.

“Perfect prey, easy to manipulate the victim. I was trapped.”

He called his wife “the beast” and hit her on the body with an earthenware pitcher before slitting her throat.

It took a jury last year less than 20 minutes to conclude that El Msseyah had committed the murderous act – and he would have faced a life sentence had it not been for his serious mental health

Judge Statman previously praised DC Officers Jeff Brunger, DS Richard Allingham, DCI Kath Way, DC Chris Brett and paramedic Caroline Cripps for their professional approach to “what must have been a shocking and horrific scene”.

A Margate electrician was ordered to be held in a secure mental institution after cutting his wife’s throat, believing she was Lucifer and had poisoned him.

Abdelaziz El Msseyah, 58, of Godwin Road, had murdered Souad Bellaha, 56 – after he suffered from a mental disorder, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

The brutal attack happened on January 28, 2021, but El Msseyah was declared unfit to plead after suffering from delusions.

Justice Philip Statman said: “The hallmark of a civilized society is how our justice system deals with those suffering from the most serious mental illnesses

“Prior to the diagnoses, the defendant was always a hard-working member of society and a man without conviction

“His delusions were evident from the moment he was arrested. The great tragedy of this case at the end of the day, sad as we all know we have no cure for dementia,

“It is an incredibly sad case for me to deal with and of course I must acknowledge that this illness, which the defendant attempted suicide on a previous occasion, is progressing.”

When issuing an order under the Mental Health Act, the judge said the victim was a much loved woman and hardworking member of the community who was a talented and gifted artist and designer.

He added: “It is difficult for any court to imagine a more harrowing and disturbing case.”

A jury had ruled that the electrician had “committed the murderous act” – and he will now remain in a secure unit until the Home Secretary decides it is safe to release him back into the community.

He was arrested after police were called to his wife’s home and found her body slumped by the bathtub with her throat cut and the knife on her chest.

Prosecutor Johnathan Polney, the 999 operator, asked, “What happened?” He replied, “I killed my ex-wife, my wife.”

The operator asked, “Why did you kill your wife?”

And El Msseyah replied: “There are many reasons. Many reasons for that.”

In a note he left, he wrote: “I know very well that no one will understand why I reacted in this way because they don’t know how she is doing (Truth, Lucifer, Evil).

“She’ll suck all your energy and throw you in the trash. This is my story and I don’t know how many before me.”

“I have decided to stop doing this and not to harm anyone anymore. I lived with her in hell for 12 years.

“I was manipulated by those years. I knew something was wrong with her behavior. I was blind (in love) with her because she (treated) me very well…then we got married and she took me to the UK.

“Perfect prey, the victim. Easily manipulated. I was trapped…”

He called his ex-wife “the beast” and hit her on the body with an earthenware jug of water before slitting her throat.

It took the jury less than 20 minutes to conclude that El Msseyah had committed the murderous act – and he would have been facing a life sentence had it not been for his serious mental health

Judge Statman had previously praised Police Officer DC Jeff Brunger; DS Richard Allingham; DCI Kath Way; DC Chris Brett and Paramedic Caroline Cripps for their professional approach to “what must have been a shocking and horrifying scene”.