Suicide man killed mother

An inquiry was under way last night after a man believed to be suffering from a mental disorder discharged himself from a psychiatric hospital only hours before he stabbed his mother to death and killed himself.

Officers called to a house in South Norwood, south London, on Sunday night found the body of a 57-year-old woman who had been attacked with a knife and had suffered severe chest injuries, Scotland Yard said. A spokeswoman said police also found the body of the architect, 33, nearby, together with a knife used in the attack.

It appears he cut his own throat. Yesterday it emerged the man had been admitted twice over the weekend to a psychiatric ward at the Mayday University Hospital, Croydon. But on Sunday, the man had left the hospital with his sisters, against medical advice.