Harrowing details emerged at Manchester Crown Court of how a neglected son stabbed his junkie father to death after blaming him for 30 years of family ruin and tragedy through his chronic addiction to heroin.
James Clarke, 35, snapped after harbouring years of bitterness against 52-year old Graham Clarke whom he blamed for the drug-related deaths of his mother and sister.
As a child Clarke jnr had been forced to 'beg and steal' for his feckless father to feed his habit - and aged just five was even used as a real life Oliver Twist to squeeze through open skylight windows to loot houses in Dickensian-like burglary expeditions.
Last April when Clarke snr - who was terminally ill - had another fall out with his son over drugs, Clarke jnr confronted him at a relative's house and stabbed him 18 times in a furious rage - then beat him after the knife broke.
When police arrested him for murder Clarke jnr said he was ''buzzing'' and added: ''He was dead in two weeks, yeah, I knew I should have left him, but obviously there must be something in me what couldn't do that.
''Summat was telling me you can't let him get away with what he's done - so I just did it. If you knew what he did to my mother you would understand. He only had two weeks left to live and I did not want him to die without paying for what he has done."
Clarke jnr, a father of three from Heywood, near Rochdale, was convicted of manslaughter following a three week trial. He was cleared of murder after claiming he was affected by '‘prolonged bereavement reaction’ - an ''adjustment disorder'' triggered by the death of his mother five years earlier. Prosecutors said the killing was an 'act of revenge and punishment' for a 'chaotic' upbringing.
He will be sentenced later. Maybe you have some shocking experiences of the British justice system. Please call us on 0161 237 1066 or email newsdesk@cavendish-press. We would like to hear from you.