Jailed farmer 'had personality disorder'

Farmer Tony Martin arrives for the appeal court hearing

A reclusive farmer jailed for life for murdering a teenage burglar was suffering from a paranoid personality disorder, the Court of Appeal has heard.

Tony Martin, who is said to have suffered sexual abuse as a child, told psychiatrists his huge collection of teddy bears in the bedroom of his isolated farmhouse were "very nice people", the court heard.

This is a man who goes through life still considering himself to be a boy of about 10

Dr Philip Joseph

The farmer was convicted of murder in April after he shot and killed 16-year-old burglar Fred Barras and wounded the teenager's accomplice Brendon Fearon at his Norfolk farm in August 1999.

An appeal court headed by the Lord Chief Justice is now re-examining the murder verdict in the light of fresh evidence on Martin, who has always maintained he acted in self defence.

'New evidence'

Michael Wolkind, QC, who heads Martin's new legal team, said his trial lawyers had not presented Martin's own account of what happened, and that their "failings" had prevented him from receiving a fair trial.

He said there was "compelling" evidence to show that the farmer acted in self-defence and under provocation or diminished responsibility.

Fred Barras was an experienced burglar

Mr Wolkind said the prosecution had alleged that Martin lay in wait for the burglars on the ground floor of his home but the farmer always maintained he was in bed when he heard the intruders.

Martin, from Emneth Hungate, near King's Lynn, says when he came down the stairs a torch was shone in his eyes and he fired his gun three times.

'Paranoid personality disorder'

The court also heard how Martin suffered from a long-standing paranoid personality disorder which meant that at the time of the killing he was suffering from abnormality of mind.

Mr Wolkind said this would undoubtedly have affected his perception of events leading up to the shooting and would have had a significant impact on his ability to exercise judgment.

He went on to present evidence from Dr Philip Joseph, consultant forensic psychiatrist at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, west London on Martin's state of mind.

Dr Joseph's report said Martin would have perceived a much greater danger to his physical safety than the average person and was more likely to believe his life was in danger.

Brendan Fearon: Shot in the groin

He said Martin had been sexually abused as a child and had experienced difficulty in forming "adult stability".

Dr Joseph said: "He is very stunted in his personality in many respects."

The conditions of poverty in which Martin lived and the dishevelled state of his house, said Dr Joseph, showed a marked degree of mental disorder.

Forensic and clinical psychologist Jackie Craissati, who interviewed Martin, said he had scored almost maximum points in a test for depressive personality traits.

He had talked of an incident when he was a young boy, when a distant relative had tried to sexually assault him.

Ms Craissati said this had invoked great anxiety in him, to the extent that he did not want to take his clothes off, even to have a bath.

Scepticism

But Dr James McKeith, called by the Crown, said it was speculative to suggest distress was indicative of a personality disorder.

He said Martin's unsatisfactory encounters with women as a young man were "commonplace when we are young".

And he added that Martin had good quality relationships and friendships with other people which continued even now.

Forensic psychiatrist Professor Anthony Maden, also called by the Crown, said that, although Martin was an eccentric and a loner, he did not find any mental disorder when he examined him.

He said Martin presented himself as having "strong feelings about the nature of right and wrong and an old-fashioned respectable commitment to family values".

Prof Maden told the court that when he saw Martin while on bail awaiting trial "his view was that he had not done anything wrong, and the vast majority of people would support him in his actions".

The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.