Vampire trial man 'not insane'

Allan Menzies said he was visited by a vampire

A man who claimed he was ordered to kill by a vampire was not insane at the time he allegedly committed the offence, according to a psychiatrist.

Alexander Cooper said Allan Menzies had a violent severe anti-personality disorder.

The retired psychiatric consultant told the High Court in Edinburgh that the 22-year-old was suffering from a split personality and was hearing voices in his head.

Menzies, from Fauldhouse, West Lothian, claimed he was ordered to murder his lifelong friend, also from Fauldhouse, by a vampire from the horror film Queen Of The Damned.

There is much evidence that he is suffering from severe personality problems Alexander Cooper Retired psychiatric consultant

Mr Menzies denies killing Thomas McKendrick on 11 December last year and attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

The jury has been told that his offer to plead guilty to culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility was rejected by the Crown.

Mr Cooper, 64, read a report he wrote based on an interview with the accused at State Hospital in Carstairs.

He said Menzies had murdered Mr McKendrick for insulting the vampire - called Akasha - rather than acting upon a hallucination.

"They started to argue and Mr McKendrick started to insult Akasha. Mr Menzies picked up a knife and stabbed Mr McKendrick," he said.

Mr Cooper went on to describe how Menzies told him he had gone upstairs after Mr McKendrick, kicked down the bedroom door and bludgeoned him to death with a hammer and knife.

Blood claim

The Glasgow doctor added: "He got a cup and drank two cupfuls of blood which he believed would make him a vampire and ate two pieces of flesh."

Answering questions from defence counsel Donald MacLeod, Mr Cooper went on to give his opinion on Menzies' condition.

"There is much evidence that he is suffering from severe personality problems," Mr Cooper said.

"In my opinion he suffers from an anti-social personality disorder and also has unexplained voices in his head.

"He is therefore suffering from hallucinations and a psychotic illness most commonly known as paranoid schizophrenia."

He added: "There is no evidence that he was insane at the time of the offence.

"It would be my opinion that there might be grounds for a plea of diminished responsibility in this case."

The trial continues.