A 26-year-old from Bordon told police something inside him “snapped” when he attacked his mother with a pruning knife, a court heard on Monday.

Anarlyn Jones is on trial at Portsmouth Crown Court after his 44-year-old mother, Anna Jones, was found dead in a flat on Station Road in Petersfield on May 9 last year.

The defendant has admitted to killing his mother but denies murder after pleading guilty last December to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

At the start of the proceedings, it was heard that the defendant was previously known as Bronwyn Jones but was now using the name Anarlyn and he/him pronouns.

Prosecuting, Sarah Jones KC read out the defendant’s own words from a police interview after he was arrested. “I had a lot of anger and rage inside me, I was so angry”, said the defendant.

A previous incident took place in October 2022 in which the defendant reportedly had assaulted his mother by putting his hands on her throat and threatening to kill her. The assault left Anna Jones with bruising and despite the defendant being subsequently arrested and bailed, the charges were dropped.

The jury also heard how the defendant claimed to have learnt killing techniques during his days as an army cadet from his sergeant when he was between 13 to 15 years old. He quit the cadets after the sergeant died.

When questioned in the interview about how the pruning knife got from the defendant’s address to his mother’s home, Jones said he couldn’t remember. The knife was shown at the defendant’s home address in a video call with his mother and sister on May 8, the day prior to the incident.

But the knife was already on a black desk in the mother’s room before the defendant arrived on the day of the incident on May 9. When pressed by police, Jones said: “I don’t remember, I don't know why you keep asking” and said it was a problem he wanted to go to the GP about.

Reports about the defendant’s medical history by forensic physiatrist Professor Don Grubin were also read out in court by the defence. The jury heard how the defendant had been diagnosed with several different disorders and conditions over the years.

He had also been sectioned at different times under the mental health act and was placed under the care of social services after allegations of abuse in the family home.

The defendant had also fantasised about wanting to kill others and in 2016 talked about having urges to kill people.

The trial continues.