All the evidence in the trial of a man accused of murdering his mum has now been heard and the jury have been sent out to deliberate before delivering their verdict.
Stephen Ball, 32, was arrested after his mum Susanne Galvin was badly injured at their shared flat on Pear Avenue in Bury on September 16 last year.
Ms Galvin was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where she died two days later.
Ball is on trial at Bolton Crown Court after admitting to manslaughter but he denies murder.
Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb gave the cause of Ms Galvin's death as “blunt force head injury".
When Ball was arrested a pair of Asics trainers were seized, and examination of the patterns matched those on Ms Galvin’s face.
Last week, prosecutor Gordon Cole KC told the court this was “consistent with stamping” on her face or head.
Read more: Bury man does not have diminished responsibility, doctor tells court
During the summing up process in court today, Wednesday, prosecutor Gordon Cole said many witnesses described Ball as having dilated pupils at the time of the killing, which suggested he was on some type of drug with a paramedic and member of the public noting he had dilated pupils.
It was added that from Ball’s medical records, no diagnosis of psychosis was given last year, which suggests his drug abuse became worse after his prison release in the middle of 2023.
In court, Dr Inti Qurashi and Dr Nikhil Khisty said they accept Ball has a recognised condition of schizoaffective disorder.
Dr Qurashi said that this manifested itself as a result of the killing that took place and could have been triggered by the killing of his mum being locked up and put in prison.
Mr Cole also said Ball had said drugs did make him angry and violent, and he took substances including cocaine voluntarily for many years.
When Ball’s grandmother, Mary Galvin, came to stay with Ball and Ms Galvin, she said he appeared to be fine, and at the time she was staying, he was not using drugs. However the week after she left, he began to take drugs again and this was the week he killed his mother.
It was also said that at some point, Ball did know what he did to his mum as after the incident he phoned Mary Galvin and told her that he had broken his mum’s arm and had heard the bone break.
The court was told he clearly knew what he had done but has never given a reason as to why he killed her.
Read more: Doctor believes man had mental relapse prior to mums’ death
But Michael Brady, defending, said that Dr Qurashi became “out and out unfair” when he said in parts that Dr Khisty’s opinions were “speculative and reductive”.
Mr Brady said there was no doubt Ball used a significant amount of drugs over a number of years, but questioned what significance this had on Ball’s mental state and actions.
He said Dr Khisty’s evidence was “detailed, considered and entirely reasonable” and he acknowledged others’ opinions rather than ignore them.
Dr Khisty said he believes Ball’s mental functioning arose out of an already existing mental condition which substantially impaired his ability to form rational thinking and there is a large body of evidence to support that.
It was also said Ball had been a frequent user of mental health services since 2012.
Dr Qurashi relied on the fact that there was no diagnosis prior to Ball’s remand in custody whereas Mr Khisty said the defendant suffered from a psychotic illness which was independent from drug use.
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Mr Brady mentioned another incident that happened just after Ball was released from prison last year and his behaviour deteriorated rapidly.
He abused drink and alcohol and in June 2023 he wandered around in the street barefoot on a hot day and ended up burning his feet so badly he ended up in hospital.
Dr Khisty said this behaviour indicated that Ball was getting unwell at the time and it was “odd and bizarre behaviour”.
Dr Khisty added that he would put this behaviour down to having a psychotic relapse, and that this makes more sense than putting it down to alcohol.
Mr Brady said another reason which indicates that Ball had an underlying mental issue is due to concerns from his mum, dad and grandmother who all tried to seek out help for him.
Mary Galvin described Ball as an “explosion waiting to happen”.
Judge Martin Walsh added that both doctors had the same material to work from and ended up having different conclusions as they interpreted the information differently.
The jury have been sent out to deliberate their verdict.
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