A failed asylum seeker who cut the throat of his North Yorkshire “grandmother” will learn later this week if he will stay in a top security psychiatric hospital or return to prison.

Retired Brenda Blainey gave Shahin Darvish-Narenjbon, 34, the use of two rooms at her Thornton-le-Dale house and a car, said Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting.

The 87-year-old woman was on the phone giving a shopping order to her local shop on January 5 last year when the call suddenly ended.

Despite 12 attempts by the shopkeeper's wife to restore the call, she was unable to make contact with Mrs Blainey and told her husband to check on the pensioner during his delivery rounds. 

"He was met by a susbtantial police presence," said Mr Lumley. 

Darvish-Narenjbon had made a 999 call claiming he had been upstairs asleep when unknown people had attacked Mrs Blainey. 

He claimed he had found her lying on the kitchen floor.

Mr Lumley said Mrs Blainey's throat was cut, she had a stab wound to her chest and head injuries and all attempts by paramedics to save her life failed. 

Police believe Darvish-Narenjbon had started his attack on her when she was on the phone.

“Their friendship was characterised by others looking on as grandmother-grandson,” the barrister said at Leeds Crown Court.

A knife with a 20cm blade in the kitchen that matched some of the wounds had been cleaned leaving no traces of Mrs Blainey’s blood on it.

Iranian-born Darvish-Narenjbon, now 35, was originally charged with Mrs Blainey’s murder, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Mr Lumley said Darvish-Narenjbon will be deported if he is released from prison or psychiatric hospital at a future date. He was born in Tehran, Iran, and came to this country when he was 15.

He was originally taken to prison following his arrest and later moved to Rampton top security psychiatric hospital in Nottinghamshire.

Judge Rodney Jameson KC will decide where he will continue to be detained and for how long on Wednesday.

York Press: An aerial view of Rampton HospitalAn aerial view of Rampton Hospital (Image: Google Maps)

Giving evidence, forensic psychiatrist James Stoddart said Darvish-Narenjbon had long-standing schizophrenia and had been psychotic at the time of the death.

He had told doctors after his arrest he had seen a “red button” which he had pressed and got a “licence” to kill Mrs Blainey which he had then done.

The doctor agreed that lack of face to face contact between Darvish-Narenjbon and medical professionals during the pandemic would have contributed to his deteriorating mental state after he made the decision to stop taking his medication.

Mr Lumley said Darvish-Narenjbon had been detained in a psychiatric hospital when he had lived for a time in the US in 2008. He had encountered Mrs Blainey in 2013 when he was working in a Leeds restaurant and she was a customer. She had invited him to visit her in her home.

By 2015, when his permission to remain the country ran out, he was visiting her regularly and she had turned one of her rooms into his bedroom. She also gave him a study, food, and the use of a car.

Darvish-Narenjbon then applied for asylum, but that was refused, as was his appeal against the decision.

In 2016, he damaged a door in Mrs Blainey's home in an argument with her when his mental state deteriorated and in 2020, he set up a limited company using her home as its registered address.