Illustrator battered his 'soul mate' hospital worker girlfriend to death with a claw hammer as he suffered mental breakdown after Covid lockdown and protracted building work at their new home

A woman was battered to death with a claw hammer by her boyfriend of 12 years after protracted building work after protracted building work at their new home and the isolation of Covid lockdown.

Alexis Karran - described as a 'happy, selfless and kind' by family members - was struck 20 times over the head in a frenzied attack by Daniel Mitchell after he snapped

The freelance illustrator was putting up pictures on the wall in the couple's £250,000 property in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, when he suddenly snapped and set about Alexis in a random assault.

The killer waited 20 minutes before calling 999 to confess what he had done, as police and paramedics dashed to the two-bedroom detached house to find the hospital radiographer inside with severe head injuries. 

At Manchester Crown Court, the 48-year-old pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after his not guilty plea to murder was accepted. 

He was ordered to be detained in a high security hospital until he is deemed fit to be released by a medical tribunal. 

In a tribute dedicated to Ms Karen, her loved ones said: 'Alexis was a very caring person; she showed kindness to all she met - to all friends and strangers.

'She was always and will be the best role model for how to live life, that her brother constantly aspired to match. She is forever in our hearts. We will always be waiting to say hello.'

The couple had been planning to have friends over for Sunday lunch on the fateful day of the attack. In the run-up to the killing, Ms Karen texted a relative saying: 'His poor brain is just broken with stress and utter despair.'

Following the brutal strikes, the 49-year-old was transported to Salford Royal Hospital but died soon after her arrival with doctors concluding she suffered multiple 'unsurvivable' head and scalp injuries. 

Mr Mitchell was detained under the Mental Health Act later relayed the killing to psychiatrists telling one: 'The night before I don't recall, but I didn't have much sleep. I woke up as we were planning a Sunday dinner and friends were coming round.

'I started the day with trying to put some pictures up, however the task felt like the biggest chore in the world. I just picked up the hammer and hit her with it, I don't know why. I don't know why but I went on hitting her until I thought she was dead.'

He added: 'Once I started I was unable to stop. It was like an out of body experience. I must be some sort of monster to do this to any person. She was my soul mate and best friend.'

The court heard how Ms Karen, who was born on the Isle of Man, and Mr Mitchell had appeared to be in a 'happy and stable' relationship after getting together in 2010, with no history of depressive illnesses. 

Problems began when Mr Mitchell's mental condition deteriorated in August last year after the couple moved to their new home on Winchester Road from neighbouring Stalybridge. 

At one stage he was said to have become suicidal but due to the support he was getting from his close-knit family, GP and a community mental health team he was allowed to stay at home and doctors changed his medication.

Prosecutor Tania Griffiths KC said: 'They had moved to Dukinfield with the hope of providing the defendant with some respite that was more therapeutic.. But he had a poor tolerance to noise and there was protracted building work which became overwhelming in order to make the house a home.

'Then the COVID pandemic hit and affected his freelance work which led him to become more isolated and he felt he was less supported, especially when Alexis was at work. However there was no reason for anyone to think his mental health was different than it had been previously.

'In fact whether anyone could have done more, or whether he could have done more is not the point in this case. The illness was not simply being ignored. He received significant help from Alexis and had taken steps to help himself.'

Friends said Ms Karen 'deeply loved' Mitchell and 'tried hard to support and help him put his demons to rest' but she began to lose weight in the months before her death. 

In a statement Alexis' brother, Leo Karran a medical genetics student said: 'I looked up to Lex all my life, she was a sage. Before all this I was so close to her and felt close to Dan too.

'To me they seemed to have the ideal relationship, and their love for each other was what I aspired to have. If she was here she would have said: 'I'm so sorry this happened to you, Dan, that things got so bad for you'. It's difficult to think of life in the future without my big sister being in it.'

Mitchell underwent psychiatric evaluations which concluded he was suffering from a 'recurrent depressive disorder leading to catatonia.' 

Psychiatrists said it was one of rarest and severest cases of its kind they had ever seen and was beyond the intervention of any GP.

Defence counsel Mr Ronnie Bergenthal said: 'In 30 years of legal practice, I can't think of a more tragic case than this one. Their relationship was one filled with compassion, devotion and happiness. Clearly there was a cocktail of medication that was tragically not working for his level of depressive condition - there were no triggers for his actions.

'On the morning of the offence they were discussing going for a walk when he felt a sudden overwhelming compulsion to hit her with the hammer and he felt powerless to stop this.'

Sentencing Judge Alan Conrad KC said: 'You and Alexis had a good and strong relationship with no suggestion at any time of any violence or abuse. Had you been mentally well, you would have been horrified at the thought of inflicting any harm on Alexis.

'But at the time you killed Alexis you were suffering from a severe depressive illness together with catatonia, a highly unusual condition and in itself of a serious nature. This case was a terrible tragedy involving two people who loved one another dearly and in which there is no suggestion of any malicious motive.'