Boy, 17, admits killing university lecturer Dr Barry Hounsome in Gosport

Dressed in a shirt and tie, the 17-year-old appeared at Winchester Crown Court today where he admitted manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

The teenager had previously denied murdering Dr Barry Hounsome with a hammer, knife and electric drill.

But today on the first day of his trial today the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted the lesser charge.

Dr Hounsome, 54, died in the attack at his home in Southcroft Road, Gosport, on Monday, October 29.

The court heard the boy was hearing a 'controlling voice' at the time of the killing and is now undergoing psychiatric treatment.

Dr Hounsome was an academic who had carried out research into dementia and Parkinson's disease and had previously worked at Southampton and Bangor universities.

The teenager, who has been diagnosed with psychosis and schizophrenia, is expected to be sentenced today.

Opening the case, Kerry Maylin said: ‘Barry Hounsome died as a result of multiple wounds that had been inflicted upon him predominantly to his head and torso.

‘There were approximately 35 stab or slash wounds to his body and multiple blunt force injuries to his head.

‘The injuries had been inflicted with numerous weapons of offence – knives, hammers and drills.

‘The injuries were so catastrophic the pathologist was not able to say the number of blunt force injuries or whether forensically the electric drill had been used.

‘But when they were later examined by the forensic scientist in relation to DNA, blood and human tissue, both drills were found to be blood-stained had hair and tissue to the drill bits that were still on the drills themselves.’

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