Daughter’s relief as road rage killer given life sentence for stabbing her father 39 times
Mentally-ill man who stabbed pensioner to death after minor shunt's family had warned medics for years he was unstable
THE shattered daughter of road rage victim Donald Lock said her dad can finally be at peace after his killer got a life sentence yesterday.
Sandra Goodlad, 54, couldn't face seeing crazed Matthew Daley in the dock again because she’s convinced he should have been convicted of murder.
He was found guilty manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility seven weeks ago.
Daley brutally stabbing Donald, 79, 39 times after a minor prang in their cars but was cleared of the more serious charge.
The mentally-ill 35-year-old got the life term with a minimum tariff of ten years to be treated in a medium-secure psychiatric hospital yesterday.
But if he is fit to be released before ten years, he will be sent to prison.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Sandra said: “I’m didn’t go to sentencing because I didn’t get the outcome that I wanted.
“To me it’s pointless now.
She added: “I’m trying to move on, forwards now, I don’t want to go backwards.
Donald Lock family statement
At today's sentencing hearing, Andrew Lock read a heart-rending family victim impact statement written by his sister Sandra Goodlad which revealed the family's deep sense of loss.
Andrew said: "It's the most overwhelming pain that you can ever imagine and it catches you by surprise continuously.
"You can be talking and laughing one minute, and then break down in tears the next. We would not wish what we have been through on our worst enemy."
Mr Lock would have turned 80 last week and a big party had been planned by his widow before he was killed, his son added.
His voice trembling with emotion, he told how his father was enjoying his retirement cycling and following Brighton and Hove Albion FC before he died. And he went on: "He was a real gentleman who loved life."
“I’m trying to put it all behind me now.
“I need my dad to be at peace now. I’m a big believer, spiritually that all the time all this is going on he has not been able to rest.
“To me that is what needs to be done now and let it go.”
Keen cyclist and great-granddad-of-five Donald was stabbed in a torso and neck with a four-and-a-half inch hunting knife in Findon, near Worthing, West Sussex on July 16 last year.
Daley shouted "die, you f****** c***" and witnesses said he was expressionless as Donald screamed: "Help, help, get off me."
NHS blunders meant his paranoid schizophrenia was not diagnosed for up to ten years which could have prevented the brutal attack.
Health chiefs apologised to Daley’s dad John a month before the trial for their mistakes in not taking their concerns about his mental health seriously.
But they did say sorry to the Locks until the verdict.
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is looking into nine other deaths to see if they could have been avoided.
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Mr Justice Singh, at Lewes crown court, said: "It is clear from the jury's verdict that any suggestion of lawful self-defence was rejected, otherwise there would have been a complete acquittal.
"This means that the jury must have been sure that, even allowing for the defendant's mental illness and deluded perception that he might be under attack, the amount of violence used was unreasonable.
"I proceed on the basis that I am sure that the defendant acted as he did with the intention to kill Mr Lock and not merely to cause really serious harm.
"This violent, unprovoked attack took place in a public place."
He added: "On any view this was a tragic case. I would like to express my sympathy to the family and friends of Mr Lock for their sad loss.
"There was evidence at the trial that the defendant was for many years under-diagnosed and under-treated for his mental health problems.
How Daley's family begged for help
Architecture graduate Daley had battled mental health problems for a decade before he stabbed Donald to death.
The trial heard the Trust wrote to the Daley family to apologise for the way he was assessed.
A review found staff didn't check he was taking his medication, assess the initial diagnoses of Asperger Syndrome or fully take account of his "risk to others".
It concluded he was misdiagnosed and as a result untreated for paranoid schizophrenia for up to ten years.
Daley had a history of random attacks, but his dad John's repeated warnings that he could kill somebody were ignored.
He wrote to his son's care workers three times begging for help, but was told Daley could be managed in the community.
In July 2014 Daley's condition got so bad his father took him to A&E where he begged doctors to section his son. Instead he was prescribed more anti-psychotic drugs.
John said of the killing: "All our nightmares came to pass unnecessarily. It didn't have to happen."
Mum Lynda had told the court: "We asked for him to be sectioned many times. I was constantly crying, pleading with them to stop him leaving A&E."
Of the hospital NHS apology, she said: "It's ten years too late."
"The defendant's parents gave evidence of the sustained and sometimes desperate efforts they made to secure proper treatment for him.
"I hope that the appropriate authorities will do everything possible to investigate what happened and to learn appropriate lessons for the future.
The public is entitled to no less."
In a victim impact statement read in court yesterday Donald's son Andrew, 49, said: "It hurts so much, the thought of him being totally alone that day, suffering such an awful death."
His widow Maureen, 78, broke down in tears as it was read out.
Andrew – who slammed the NHS Trust after the trial - added: "It's the most overwhelming pain that you can ever imagine and it catches you by surprise continuously.
"You can be talking and laughing one minute, and crying the next. We would not wish what we have been through on our worst enemy.
"Last week would have seen dad celebrate his 80th birthday, for which mum had already planned a big party."
His voice breaking, he said: "He just seemed to touch people's hearts.
He was a real gentleman, who just loved life.
"When dad was murdered, a large piece of our hearts went with him that day.
"For mum, it's been really tough. He was her soulmate.
"Life for us will never be the same again.
"Rest in peace dad, our hero."
Daley's younger sister, Rebecca described Mr Lock's killing as "everything we feared would happen over the last 10 years".
In mitigation, David Howker QC said Daley was a "gentle man" whose offending was "solely confined to his mental illness".
He said: "We would submit that were it not, to some extent, for that failure we probably wouldn't be here today.
Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of mental health charity Sane, said: "This tragedy could have been prevented and two families saved from grief and heartbreak.
"It is extraordinary that the psychiatric services refused to take notice of repeated 'red alert' warnings from the parents of Matthew Daley and that he was denied the care and treatment he needed over 10 years."
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