The sentencing of a man who killed his Angus partner because he thought she was poisoning him for the Taliban has been deferred while his mental state is assessed.
Lee Arne Hopsdal cut Forfar woman Catherine Sandeman’s jugular vein twice when he stabbed her repeatedly in their home.
The 33-year-old then walked 13 miles with a bleeding hand wound to Dundee, where concerned staff at a shop convinced him to seek medical attention.
He claimed he had been attacked in his home by men with knives.
When he got to Ninewells Hospital, he told a doctor he was burning from ultraviolet rays which were being shot from the roof, and used a blanket to shield himself.
Police found the body of Ms Sandeman on November 1 2013 next to blood-stained knives and a multi-purpose tool with a blade and a hammerhead.
The former Liverpool man later told psychiatrists that he believed his partner was acting as a spy against him spiking his food and drink for the Taliban, who he said were “after him”.
Psychiatrists who spoke with Hopsdal on a number of occasions came to the consensus that he was suffering from a psychotic mental disorder.
When he later appeared in court, he admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
He was expected to be sentenced at the High Court in Aberdeen on Thursday but the case was deferred because he is still receiving treatment at the State Hospital in Carstairs.
Defence agent Mark Stewart QC said: “It’s clear from the reports that doctors say he is making progress and improvements.”
Judge Lord Boyd said he would continue Hopsdal’s interim compulsion order for another two months and he will now be sentenced at the High Court in Livingston on August 15.