An electrician has been ordered to be kept in a secure mental health unit after he slashed his wife's throat, believing she was Lucifer and had poisoned him.

The emergency services discovered a "shocking and horrific scene" after Abdelaziz El Msseyah, of Godwin Road, Margate, murdered Souad Bellaha, 56, at her home.

But the 58-year-old was later ruled unfit to plead as he was suffering delusions due to dementia.

Judge Philip Statman told Maidstone Crown Court today that is difficult to imagine "a more harrowing and upsetting case".

"The hallmark of a civilised society is how our justice system proceeds to deal with those who suffer from the most serious of mental illnesses," the judge said.

"Until the diagnoses had been made, the defendant had always been a hard-working member of the community and a man without conviction

"His delusions were manifest from the moment of his arrest. The great tragedy of this case at the end of the day is, sadly, as we all know, we do not have a cure for dementia.

"It is an incredibly sad case for me to have to deal with and of course I have to recognise that there is progression in this illness in that the defendant, on an earlier occasion, tried to take his own life."

The judge said Bellaha had been a woman who was much-loved, a hard-working member of the community and a talented and gifted artist and designer.

He added: "It is difficult for any court to imagine a more harrowing and upsetting case."

The judge made an order under the Mental Health Act today which means the defendant must now remain in a secure unit until the Home Secretary rules he is safe to be released back into the community.

El Msseyah was arrested after police were called to his wife's home on January 28, 2021, and found her body slumped next to the bath with her throat cut and the knife lying on her chest.

Prosecutor Johnathan Polney the 999 operator asked: "What's happened?"

He replied: "I killed my ex-wife, my wife."

The operator asked: "Why did you kill your wife?"

And El Msseyah replied: "There are many reasons. A lot of reasons for it."

In a note he left, he wrote: "I know very well that nobody will understand why I reacted in this way because they don't know how she is (truth, Lucifer, evil).

"She will suck all your energy and throw you in the bin. This is my story and I don't know how many before me.

"I decided to stop this and not to harm anyone anymore. I lived in hell with her during 12 years.

"I was manipulated from those years. I knew something wrong with her behaviour. I was in blindly (in) love with her because she (treated) me very good... then we married and she brought me in UK.

"Perfect prey, the victim easy to manipulate. I was entrapped."

He called his wife "the beast" and beat her over her body with an earthenware water jug before slashing her throat.

A jury last year took less than 20 minutes to conclude El Msseyah had carried out the murderous act - and he would have faced a life sentence but for his serious mental health

Judge Statman had earlier praised police officers DC Jeff Brunger, DS Richard Allingham, DCI Kath Way, DC Chris Brett and paramedic Caroline Cripps for their professional approach to "what must have been a shocking and horrific scene".

A Margate electrician has been ordered to be kept in a secure mental unit after he slashed his wife's throat, believing she Lucifer and had poisoned him.

Abdelaziz El Msseyah 58,of Godwin Road, had murdered Souad Bellaha, 56 - after suffering from a mental disorder, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

The brutal attack happened on January 28 2021 but El Msseyah was ruled unfit to plead after suffering delusions.

JUdge Philip Statman said: " The hallmark of a civilised society is how our justice system proceeds to deal with those who suffer from the most serious of mental illnesses

"Until the diagnoses had been made he defendant had always been a hardworking member of the community and a man without conviction

"His delusions were manifest from the moment of his arrest. The great tragedy of this case at the end of the day as sadly as we all know we do not have a cure for dementia,

"It is an incredibly sad case for me to have to deal with and of course I have to recognise that there is progression in this illness that the defendant,. on an earlier occasion, tried to take his life."

In making an order under the Mental Health Act, the judge said the victim had been a woman who was much loved, and a hardworking member of the community, who was a talented and gifted artist and designer."

He added: " It is difficult for any court to imagine a more harrowing and upsetting case."

A jury had ruled that the electrician had "carried out the murderous act" - and he will now remain in a secure unit until the Home Secretary rules he is safe to be released back into the community.

He was arrested after police were called to his wife's home and found her body slumped next to the bath with her throat cut and the knife lying on her chest.

Prosecutor Johnathan Polney the 999 operator asked: "What's happened?"He replied: "I killed my ex-wife, my wife."

The operator asked: "Why did you kill your wife?"

And El Msseyah replied: "There are many reasons. A lot of reasons for it."

In a note he left, he wrote:"I know very well that nobody will understand why I reacted in this way because they don't know how she is (truth, Lucifer, evil).

"She will suck all your energy and throw you in the bin. This is my story and I don't know how many before me"

"I decided to stop this and not to harm anyone anymore. I lived in hell with her during 12 years.

"I was manipulated from those years. I knew something wrong with her behaviour. I was in blindly (in) love with her because she (treated) me very good..then we married and she brought me in UK.

"Perfect prey, the victim.easy to manipulate. I was entrapped.."

He called his ex wife "the beast" and beat her over her body with an earthenware water jug before slashing her throat.

The jury took less than 20 minutes to concluded El Msseyah had carried out the murderous act - and he would have faced a life sentence but for his serious mental health

Judge Statman had earlier praised police officers DC Jeff Brunger; DS Richard Allingham; DCI Kath Way; DC Chris Brett and paramedic Caroline Cripps for their professional approach to "what must have been a shocking and horrific scene."