Schizophrenic Man Gouged Out Grandmother's Eyeballs As They Had 'Demons Behind Them’

A 21-year-old man from London who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia has admitted to one count of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility for gouging out his grandmothers eyes in a “frenzied and vicious” attack that killed her, the court heard Tuesday.

Ilona Czuper, 63, was stabbed and slashed over a dozen times with a knife in an attack that happened two months after Kordian Filmanowicz was released from a psychiatric hospital. He almost obliterated her head with a concrete slab after removing her eyeballs, before proceeding to crush their pet cat and dog with a pavement slab.

The man, who was from Mitcham, was fixated with eyes, believing they represented “the demons of those behind them,” prosecutor James Mulholland QC said.

When he was at a psychiatric unit in Croydon in 2016, Filmanowicz would threaten members of the staff with a plastic teaspoon, saying he wanted to remove their eyes with it. He was released by the senior psychiatrists who decided his condition had improved and that his delusions were "less intrusive."

According to Mulholland, Filmanowicz had spent six months in psychiatric hospitals. He was released May 8, 2017, two months prior to the attack.

He and his family moved into their new house, which was covered by the South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust. Visits by health teams to check up on Filmanowicz slowed down as well, Mulholland said.

But soon after, Filmanowicz got worse. He stopped taking his medication, even threatened a dog with a rock believing it was possessed by a demon.

The agency in charge of the area assessed him at home, but they could not do a full assessment as he refused voluntary hospital admission.

“It will appear from notes no assessment could be arranged for the period between 23 June and Ms Czuper’s death,” Mulholland said.

On July 6, Filmanowicz mother and sister found a trail of blood leading to their garden when they returned home from work.

Czuper was found dead and mutilated with more than 60 slash and stab wounds to her throat among other injuries.

Mulholland said Filmanowicz had begun exhibiting symptoms of mental health issues after he returned to United Kingdom in 2016. He was staying in his native Poland. He started talking about demons and believed he was Jesus. Filmanowicz was remanded in custody until Thursday.

In an unrelated incident, a convicted killer who murdered his grandmother with a golf club, wrench and knife asked for a reduced sentence as his was “too severe.”

Attorney to 29-year-old Derek Poulin said the crime wasn’t “the worst of the worst.”

Justice John O’Neil, who gave him a life sentence in 2015 will make a decision on the request at a later date.