THE son of Sir Richard Sutton’s partner killed the millionaire on the anniversary of his own father’s death after harbouring feelings of “revenge” and “hatred”, a court was told.

Prosecutors said Thomas Schrieber, who is standing trial at Winchester Crown Court accused of murdering Sir Richard and attempting to murder his mother Anne Schreiber, messaged friends saying he believed he had killed both of them.

Continuing the prosecution’s opening of the case on Tuesday, November 30, Adam Feest QC said Ms Schrieber remains in hospital, seven months after the incident at Moorhill in Higher Langham, near Gillingham, Dorset.

Mr Feest QC said she was in the kitchen on the evening of April 7 when she heard commotion, which was described as “shouting and noise” coming from elsewhere in the property.

“Upon turning in response to what she had heard, Anne Schreiber saw her son, she will tell you, in the kitchen and she went towards the large island where he was standing,” said Mr Feest QC.

Ms Schreiber noticed her son looked unusual, his eyes looking “terribly, terribly determined”, the court heard. The prosecutor said she described his eyes also appearing wild and him looking not abnormal but “very, very unusual, very, very out of control”.

Her son was holding a knife, which she thought was a kitchen knife from the knife block and was about 15 centimetres long, the prosecutor said.

Mr Feest QC said that Ms Schreiber recalls the defendant lifting the knife up and he must have stabbed her, although “she does not recall actually being stabbed but remembers looking at the knife in her and being surprised that it didn’t hurt more”.

The court was told had it not been for the intervention of police officers and paramedics at the scene, Ms Schreiber would not have survived.

Once out of theatre at a Bristol hospital, she had been given around 27 litres of blood products – the human body holds between four and six litres. There were no injuries to any of the major organs but the wounds caused “extensive and sustained blood loss”. Mr Feest QC said medical notes refer at different points to 13 or 15 separate injuries.

The court heard the defendant sent voice messages to friends and siblings after the incident apologising, saying he had killed his mother, aged 66, and Sir Richard, aged 83.

In the months and years prior to the fatal episode on April 7, there was tensions between the defendant and his mother and Sir Richard, as well as the defendant and his sisters, Mr Feest QC said.

Anne and David Schrieber, the defendant’s father, separated around 2002 and 2003 and Sir Richard, who was a family friend and estranged from his wife, invited Ms Schrieber and her children to move to Moorhill.

Thomas Schreiber felt he was treated differently by his mother and Sir Richard compared to his sisters, the prosecutor said.

Mr Feest QC said the defendant’s persistent emotions and his enforced stay at Moorhill during lockdown in early 2021 were “significant” in the “explosion of violence” by him on April 7 of this year.

The defendant’s father died on April 7, 2013, and this had an adverse impact on him, the court was told.

On the morning of Sir Richard’s death, the defendant visited his own father’s grave, Mr Feest QC said.

The prosecution gave details on two "violent" incidents around Christmas 2019 and November 2020.

The jury was told the first saw an argument break out between the defendant and one of his sisters, which led to a “tussle” before Sir Richard swung a fist but missed and the defendant reacted by swinging back and hitting him.

The second incident occurred when Ms Schreiber suggested to her daughter that she might have one of their grandmother’s chandeliers and the defendant lost his temper, Mr Feest QC said.

The prosecutor said Sir Richard stepped in following an altercation between Thomas Schrieber and his sister. The millionaire hit the defendant once across the back with his walking stick, which broke as a result.

Thomas Schreiber told a friend after the incident that he felt “the scapegoat” and Sir Richard had hit him with a “cheap shot”.

In a voice note to a friend the following day, which was played in court, the defendant described this incident as “pretty horrible” and “absolutely ridiculous”.

The defendant said “we are talking pure hatred, in their eyes last night was pure hatred”.

Thomas Schreiber, 35 and of Gillingham, Dorset, denies murder and attempted murder.

The trial continues.