THE killer of Sergio Marquez was given a life sentence this afternoon after admitting beheading and disembowelling the student.

Karl Addo, 30, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility on Monday, and was taken back to Broadmoor Hospital, where he has spent the last year.

See how the sentencing unfolded today in our live coverage

Spanish hotel employee Sergio was stabbed at the Lansdowne Road flat he shared with Addo on July 17 2012 before his killer, a “dangerous” paranoid schizophrenic, mutilated his body.

Judge Mr Justice Ian Burnett said the case was “deeply tragic”, adding: “You killed Mr Marquez with multiple stab wounds in what was a frenzied and deeply violent attack from which he tried to defend himself.”

The court also heard from Dr David Morton, who has worked with Addo since his arrest.

He said that, despite treatment with the “gold star” of anti-psychotic medication, the defendant's delusions of being attacked by a “supernatural” gang remained.

Addo attacked Sergio, whom he believed to be part of this gang, on the day he was due to be evicted from the flat due to anti-social behaviour.

He will serve a life sentence for manslaughter, with a minimum of six-and-a-half years to run alongside an indefinite detention order under the provisions of the Mental Health Act.

However, Judge Burnett said: “The result of the sentence I have imposed is that the public now has the double protection provided by the Mnetal Health Act and the involvement of the Parole Board.

“You will be detained for at least six-and-a-half years, but will not be released until the relevant authorities conclude that it is safe to do so. Given all that I have heard, you must recognise that there is a real possibility that such a conclusion will never be reached.”

Speaking afterwards, Sergio's mother, Maria Carmen Marquez Torres, said: “I have lost my son and the world has lost a wonderful man.

“I believe that I have received justice for me and for Sergio. No sentence would ever be sufficient and nothing will ever compensate me for the loss of my son. But I find comfort in the fact that Mr Addo will not have his freedom for a long time and cannot inflict this pain of any other family.”

Killer absconded from mental health centre

Addo absconded from the Huntley Centre at St Pancras Hospital in London, where he was a voluntary in-patient, after learning he would soon be sectioned in 2011.

One year later, he killed Sergio in their shared flat in Bournemouth.

Today, a spokesperson from the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust released a statement, which read: “In October 2011 Mr Addo was being assessed and treated on a ward at the Huntley Centre. There was no evidence during his admission to suggest that Mr Addo represented a risk to others.

“He was on escorted leave as part of his treatment plan on October 20 2011 when he absconded. Mr Addo's details were immediately circulated to the police and we worked intensively with his family and his GP to establish his whereabouts but the trust was unable to regain contact with Mr Addo after he left the area.

“An incident investigation was carried out by the trust into all of the issues concerning Mr Addo's care and treatment which confirmed that extensive attempts were made to re-establish contact with Mr Addo after he absconded.”