In a harrowing incident that underscores the tragic intersection of severe mental illness and spiritual belief, a father from Manchester survived a violent attack by his own son, who was in the grip of undiagnosed paranoid schizophrenia.
A Night of Unimaginable Violence
Last August, 64-year-old Joshua Obinim's life was shattered when his 22-year-old son, Benjamin, launched a brutal assault on the family in their Manchester home. Benjamin first killed his mother, Alberta, stabbing her 16 to 17 times. He then turned on his 18-year-old sister, Bernice, wounding her as she tried to barricade herself in her bedroom before escaping through a window.
Joshua awoke to the screams and confronted his son. "I saw my son outside the door of my daughter with a knife," he recalls. He attempted to disarm Benjamin, grabbing the blade, but was met with resistance. After fleeing outside for help, Benjamin intercepted him. "He just came and met me there and then he cut my head, so blood was just gushing out, then he went into my belly," Joshua said.
Lying wounded, Joshua pleaded for his life. "I was pleading with him not to kill me, because he knows how much I love him. I was lying on the floor and he wasn't giving in." He lost consciousness after a neighbour intervened, shouting for Benjamin to stop.
Faith, Demons, and a Missed Diagnosis
In the weeks leading up to the attack, the family—devout Christians from Manchester's Ghanaian community—had noticed a drastic change in Benjamin's behaviour. Once a calm, quiet, and academic student with a "bright future," he began experiencing hallucinations and paranoid delusions. He believed his mother and sister were witches who had implanted a device in his chest.
"I never even thought it was a mental thing," Joshua admits. "I thought he was demonised, that the demons had come to attack him." The family responded with intense prayer sessions, a common reaction in many spiritual communities where mental health is stigmatised or misunderstood. On the day she died, Alberta had even raised concerns about her son's mental health at their church, but Benjamin never saw a doctor.
Joshua suffered multiple stab wounds to his head, face, neck, chest, abdomen, arms, and leg. He was placed in an induced coma and, upon waking, was told his wife had died. His daughter Bernice required plastic surgery and was left with significant long-term physical and psychological scars.
A Call for Open Minds and Medical Intervention
Benjamin was arrested and later detained under the Mental Health Act. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, which experts agreed was the sole cause of the attack. He pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his mother by reason of diminished responsibility and to wounding his father and sister with intent. A judge ruled he should be detained indefinitely at Ashworth High Security Hospital.
With time to reflect, Joshua is filled with regret. "I had not heard of schizophrenia before," he says. He now urges other deeply spiritual families to seek professional help alongside prayer. "We have to be open minded. If I knew, I would have taken the initiative... Praying for someone to get healed doesn't mean the person does not need medical attention. It's a regret. If I knew, I would have done both together."
Mental health experts echo this need for a dual approach. Dr Gwen Adshead, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, emphasises that early intervention is critical in schizophrenia, which typically emerges in late adolescence or early adulthood. She notes that services are increasingly learning to respect spiritual beliefs while ensuring medical care is not delayed.
Bishop Tony Parry, a senior pastor in Leeds who has undertaken mental health first aid training, agrees. "Mental illness is a reality in the world that we live in... I think people like myself, people who are spiritual leaders, have a responsibility to equip themselves first and then equip others."
Despite his profound loss, Joshua's faith has led him to forgiveness. His home remains filled with pictures of his late wife, Alberta, whom he describes as the family's linchpin. His message to his son is one of atonement: "He should be able to forgive himself and he should remember that we have not stopped loving him. We have forgiven him, so he should forgive himself."
