Man who killed his stepfather in Gosport in 2018 has been sentenced to a Hospital Order

A man who killed his step-father in Gosport has been convicted of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and sentenced this week, following a trial at Southampton Crown Court.

On 29 October 2018, police were called by Vladimir Ivashikin – who was aged 16 at the time – reporting that he had killed 54-year-old Barry Hounsome at their home address in Southcroft Road.

Barry’s body was found at the bottom of the stairs by the front door as police entered the address. He had suffered a horrific series of injuries to his head and body, which had been inflicted with a hammer, knives, and a drill.

At the time of his arrest, Ivashikin detailed to police in interview that he had heard voices in his head telling him to kill, and his inability to repress these resulted in Barry’s death.

On 1 May 2019 Ivashikin – who is now aged 22 – entered a plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility at Winchester Crown Court, and he was sentenced the same day to a Hospital Order.

He then remained an in-patient at Ravenswood House Hospital in Hampshire.

In February 2022 however, Ivashikin made a series of disclosures to clinicians at the hospital, detailing that he had lied about his symptoms, and the police were subsequently notified about this. Clinicians were told by Ivashikin that he had not heard any voices at the time of the killing, or during his stay at Ravenswood, and had made the illness up as a way of avoiding a prison sentence for murder.

An application was subsequently made to the Court of Appeal for his murder acquittal to be quashed, and for him to be re-tried for murder. On 31 January this year, the Court agreed this and the case was sent for trial on Monday 1 July.

During the trial, the court heard from psychiatric experts sharing their opinion as to whether Ivashikin was suffering with psychosis at the time of the killing, and whether he had the defence of diminished responsibility open to him. The prosecution invited the jury to consider the wider evidence, including Ivashikin’s actions before and after the killing.

On Wednesday 17 July, the jury found Ivashikin not guilty of murder, and guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Today (Friday 19 July) he was sentenced to a Hospital Order with no limitation on time under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983, with an additional Restriction Order under Section 41 of the act.

Detective Superintendent Dave West said: “First and foremost our thoughts remain with the family and friends of Barry Hounsome.

“Barry was killed in a truly horrific and brutal manner in his own home by someone close to him.

“This case has been both unusual and complex, with police and criminal justice partners acting on new evidence to ensure that every effort was made to achieve the right outcome for Barry’s family, both in the pursuit of justice and ultimately to keep the wider public protected.

“In July this year, the evidence was put to a jury for the first time. The jury reached a verdict of manslaughter by diminished responsibility, for which Ivashikin has now been sentenced and he will remain detained in hospital as a result to ensure the ongoing safety of the public.”

“I want to reassure the public that since Barry’s death, Ivashikin has not been living amongst the community, having spent time either in custody or in a secure, specialist hospital facility. Police, and other trusted partners work under strict Multi-agency Public Protection Arrangement frameworks to closely monitor dangerous individuals like Ivashikin, and act swiftly on new information and evidence when there is a clear risk to the public.”