My schizophrenic brother killed our father – but I’ve forgiven him and feel really sorry for him

A woman whose schizophrenic brother killed their father has revealed that she has ‘forgiven him’ and believes he wouldn’t have hurt him ‘if he was in his right mind’.

Adam Merritt, 33, stabbed his father Robert – who was also his carer – at their Peterborough home last June.

His sister Sarah told the BBC that Adam, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a teenager, ‘didn’t mean to do it’. 

‘I’m sure he would say the same thing, that he has a lot of regret,’ she added.  ‘I’m not against him whatsoever. I’m not angry at him. I just feel really sorry for him.’ 

She admitted they still talk regularly and are hoping to move into a more normal routine after the horrific events of last summer. 

After stabbing his father 16 times in June 2022, Adam called 999 and admitted that he had done ‘something terrible’, telling the operators that Robert wasn’t ‘alive anymore’, ITV reported. They had just been planning a move to Cumbria.

He was later faced with a murder charge – but was found not fit to stand trial.

A finding of facts trial at Cambridge Crown Court found that he committed the murder, and he was then given a hospital order.

Sarah also revealed how distraught the family was by trying to find a good care system for her brother.

Sarah believes that her father’s death may have been prevented if her brother got the help he needed from qualified professionals. Pictured: Robert, left, and Adam, right

Sarah (pictured with  her partner) also revealed how distraught the family was by trying to find a good care system for her brother

She admitted they still talk regularly and are hoping to move into a more normal routine after the horrific events of last summer. Sarah and Adam pictured as children 

She said that around the same time Adam received his schizophrenia diagnosis in 2008, he had been sectioned and also tried to break out of the hospital.

‘That’s when my dad thought “OK, I’m going to do this on my own and take him in and look after him myself”,’ she explained, despite Robert having no formal training on what to do. ‘And then at least he can be there with him and take care of him.’

While Robert and his son were close, the dynamic took a toll on both of them. 

Robert ended up riddled with depression and anxiety as he tried to navigate caring for Adam – but he was determined to ‘never give up’ on him.

Sarah also believes that her father’s death may have been prevented if her brother got the help he needed from qualified professionals. 

Adam was not known to adult social services, she told the BBC, despite him being recognised by the local NHS mental health trust; but social services were aware that Robert was an unpaid carer. 

Adam had stopped taking his medicine a fortnight before the tragic incident, the jury heard, but had a dose of the anti-psychotic medication a day before.  

In a statement made at the time of Robert’s death, shared by ITV, the 60-year-old’s family said: ‘He had a great sense of humour and was fun to be around. He had a heart of gold and would help anyone.’