A man who has been branded “scum of the Earth” for strangling his ex-partner to death sent a chilling 10-word text to his ex-wife after killing the victim.
Peter Pitt, 52, and Charlene Mills had a turbulent relationship but the woman, who was “smitten” with him, was keen to “rekindle” it. However, when they spent a night together, Pitt killer her, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The court was told Pitt has schizophrenia and experienced delusions that Charlene, 43, was trying to poison him. On the morning Charlene was found dead in Pitt’s home in Gorton, Greater Manchester, he texted his ex-wife to admit that he had killed her. He wrote: “I’m so sorry, tell the kids I love them, I’ve just killed Charlene.”
His ex-wife went to his home with her new husband and Pitt confessed that he had “strangled her with his bare hands.” He added: “I’ve strangled her with my bare hands. She’s in my bed. Go and have a look if you don’t believe me.”
They went into the bedroom and saw Charlene on the bed. When they returned, they saw Pitt and another man drinking a bottle of Desperados, the Manchester Evening News reported. The police were called, and when they arrived Pitt was cautioned. He replied: “I kept on getting poisoned, me and my family, what would you do?”
A neighbour of Pitt, who also lived in the house of multiple occupancy, said that Pitt had previously blocked the air vents in his room. He had previously called the fire service to report his concerns that he was being poisoned. The cause of Charlene’s death was confirmed as strangulation.
Prosecutors told how the pair had been in a relationship on-and-off for a number of years, and were living apart at the time of her death on September 30, 2023. A mutual friend of Pitt and Charlene had spoken on the phone the day before. Prosecutor Barbara Webster said Charlene was last seen alive at 1.21am on September 30, when she entered Pitt’s home. Charlene’s devastated family were in court as Pitt appeared by video link from a psychiatric hospital.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility after medical experts agreed that his mental condition gave him the partial defence to murder, which Pitt was originally charged with. Prosecutors said that Pitt’s condition had been exacerbated by his use of illegal drugs.
Charlene’s family claimed that Pitt would use her money to feed his addiction and that she would even collect drugs from dealers for him. Charlene’s mother, Delphine Mills, said in a statement read on her behalf that despite Pitt’s plea, the family believed that she was “murdered”.
“Peter has taken one of the most precious things away from me,” she said. “Charlene was my first born. What that man, if I can even call him a man, has done to me and my family is beyond words. I welcomed him into my house and took him at face value when Charlene first introduced us to him.
“We got on well enough and didn’t argue so I thought I would give him a chance. She was smitten with him and was so happy to be in a relationship with him. She still stuck by him even when we found him taking heroin in our bathroom. Charlene stuck up for him and wanted to help him move away from this world and have a better life for themselves.
“I just gave him the benefit of the doubt. I wish I hadn’t done as there was a side of him that I didn’t know about.” She said that Pitt would call her daughter “some of the worst things possible” including abusive terms such as “fat” and “retard”, and even “n****”. She continued: “He would make her feel guilty about how he would feel when he was withdrawing from his heroin. Charlene would go and sort his drugs for him.
“The arguments started if she didn’t have much money left, she would use it for him to score. Still she persisted with him. No matter what the situation, she would make us laugh and found a positive in anything and everything, that’s who she was. She was too good for him, she found this out the hard way.
“Peter Pitt, I will never forgive you for what you have done to me and my family. All your fake apologies would never bring my Charlene back. I hope you rot and suffer like we all must now suffer.” Chalene’s sister Amber Thompson told Pitt in court: “I genuinely feel that you have played the system and won. You disgust me.” Branding him as the “scum of the earth”, Ms Thompson added: “All she did was love you.”
Defending Pitt, Nick Johnson KC said the defendant had been suffering from “chronic” schizophrenia for at least five years. He said there was evidence that his delusional thoughts had persisted even during periods when Pitt was not abusing drugs or alcohol, and when he was taking prescribed medication.
Mr Johnson said that Pitt had made “genuine” attempts to seek help with his mental health. Three days before the killing, Pitt had called the coroner’s office and said he was “going to end up on their table if something isn’t done”, and referred to his delusional belief that Charlene was trying to poison him.
He had also turned up at a police station with a crossbow and asked to be imprisoned. Judge Alan Conrad KC adjourned sentencing until Friday, when psychiatrists are expected to give evidence. Pitt, previously of Hyde Road, Gorton, is expected to be sentenced under the Mental Health Act to a form of hospital order, meaning he will be detained to undergo treatment.
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