Father stabbed to death on his doorstep by a mental patient as he waited for his children to return home from school

13 April 2012

A knife maniac today admitted stabbing a father-of-three to death on his doorstep in an apparently motiveless attack.


Crazed David Brown calmly walked up to Christian Puttock - a complete stranger - and plunged a five-inch knife into his chest in front of a neighbour.

Mr Puttock, 35, a Merchant Navy seaman, had recently become a father for the third time and had just 17 days with his daughter Aimee before he was killed as he waited for his two sons to come home from school.

Christian Puttoc, pictured with his wife Lisa on their wedding day, was killed after his crazed neighbour stabbed him

Christian Puttoc, pictured with his wife Lisa on their wedding day, was killed after his crazed neighbour stabbed him

The family were due to go out and celebrate his wife Lisa’s 34th birthday on the night of the attack in February.

They were also weeks away from emigrating to Australia, where Mr Puttock had recently landed a dream job.

Yesterday Brown, 34 - who has a history of mental illness - denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Bristol Crown Court.

Robert Duval, prosecuting, said Brown suffered from ‘an abnormality of the mind which in the opinion of doctors would have impaired his responsibility for the act’.

He added: ‘This defendant inflicted a single and fatal wound. There is clear evidence that it was unlawful and clear evidence that there was intent to kill.’

Mr Puttock was unloading his car as he waited for his two sons, Matthew and Sean, to return home from school at 4pm on February 12.

Brown calmly walked up to him with a ‘vacant, expressionless’ face and plunged the knife into his chest without speaking a word.

He then calmly waited in the street for police to arrest him.

Scene: The Puttocks' home in Clevedon, Somerset

Scene: The Puttocks' home in Clevedon, Somerset

The pair had never met but Brown’s mother lives nearby on the quiet residential estate in Clevedon, Somerset.

Mr Puttock collapsed and his neighbour Jonathan Hayter, who witnessed the attack, dragged him into his house and ushered Mrs Puttock away, before trying in vain to revive him.

Speaking after the attack, he said: ‘I pulled Chris into my kitchen and I tried to stop the bleeding. It was only one small wound but it was impossible to stop it.

‘Chris couldn’t talk at this point. He just kept looking at me as if he was pleading with me to save him.

‘That’s the last image I have of him. He didn’t deserve to die. He had a family, a job: he was a good man.

‘It was a completely mindless and random attack.

‘The guy literally walked up to us when we were waiting for the kids to come home from school and then stabbed Chris.

‘He didn’t say anything but just stared at us. He wasn’t ranting or raving. He was completely vacant, expressionless even.

‘It was really strange. He then just walked off as I tried to save Chris.’ Mr Puttock was rushed to the Bristol Royal Infirmary where he died an hour later of his injuries.

Speaking after the stabbing Lisa Puttock paid tribute to her ‘devoted and loving’ husband who would phone home every day while he was away at sea.

She said: ‘There are not any words that can best describe Chris except he was the most kind and gentle man there could ever be.

‘I will always love him and he will always be by my side forever.

‘He was such a proud and devoted father and the most loving husband that anyone could ever have. We were his life and he was ours.

‘He always made a point every day to say "I love you" no matter where he was in the world - he never missed a day.’

Brown - who was admitted to Llanarth Court secure psychiatric hospital in Gwent, Wales, on April 16 - looked confused as he appeared in the dock yesterday with thick matted dreadlocked hair and a long bushy beard.

Mr Duval, prosecuting, added: ‘This man has a clear psychiatric history which compliments his behaviour and his state of mind before, at the time and after the unlawful killing, which supports the findings of the psychiatrist in this case.’

The case was adjourned for psychiatric reports and Brown will be sentenced at Bristol Crown Court at a date to be set.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in