A man who killed his flat mate at a Christmas party in Perth “lost his mind” and started hearing “voices” in the weeks before the attack, a court has heard.
Jakub Kmieciak, 20, told detectives he was suffering from mental health issues.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard Kmieciak made the comments after being arrested for stabbing Rafal Rymarkiewicz on December 23 2017.
Kmieciak had been at a party with his victim and other friends when he suddenly took a blade from a knife block and struck him on the right side of the body.
Witnesses heard Kmieciak apologising for his actions and saying that he “had to do it”.
He was apprehended an hour latere and told officers he was suffering from poor mental health.
Yesterday, judge Lord Burns heard how psychiatric specialists assessed Kmieciak after he poured a kettle of hot water over himself while on remand at Polmont YOI, in September 2018.
Doctors concluded Kmieciak was suffering from an “abnormality of mind” at the time he attacked 34-year-old Mr Rymarkiewicz.
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This prompted prosecutors to accept a plea of guilt from the accused to the lesser charge of culpable homicide due to diminished responsibility.
Sentence was deferred to June for further information to be obtained.
Richard Goddard QC had earlier told the court how Kmieciak lived with his victim at a property in South William Street, Perth.
They went to a party in Wallace Court the night before Boxing Day and Kmieciak spent most of the evening playing computer games.
Mr Goddard said that shortly after 10.45pm, Kmieciak and his victim were waiting for a taxi to take them home when the accused suddenly attacked him.
Mr Goddard added: “Without any warning, the accused took a knife from a knife block, walked towards the now deceased and struck him on the right hand side of the body.
“The accused then ran out out of the kitchen door towards the front door of the flat. The now deceased fell to the floor shouting ‘what are you doing?’
“As the accused ran out of the front door of the flat he was heard to say ‘sorry I had to do it’, or something similar.
“(Witness) Jakub Winiarczyk described the accused’s expression as being very different from the way he had been all night and that the accused looked as if his state of mind had changed.”
Mr Rymarkiewicz was rushed to Ninewells Hospital but died the following morning at 7.32am.
Police arrested the accused shortly afterwards and during interview, made “various comments throughout alluding to mental health issues, that he had lost his mind, he had paranoia and heard voices prior to the incident”, said Mr Goddard.
The prosecutor said a November 2018 report written by a Dr Gordon Skilling stated Kmieciak has a mental illness, mpost likely induced by “heavy use of substances, including amphetamine” which would require further assessment.
Mr Goddard added: “The possibility that the accused was experiencing the early stage of an enduring mental illness such as schizophrenia also remains.”
