The grandson of Brighton restaurant boss Sue Addis has been sentenced to 15 years for killing his grandmother at Lewes Crown Court this morning (Friday 5 May).
Pietro Addis, 20, was told that he would be jailed for 10 years with an extended sentence of five years by Judge Christine Laing, the honorary recorder of Brighton and Hove.
The judge said that he would be expected to serve at least two thirds of the 10-year prison sentence before being considered for parole.
If he was released and committed any further offence before serving the rest of the 15 years on licence, he would be returned to prison to serve the full term.
Addis admitted manslaughter after he stabbed Mrs Addis 17 times in the bath of her home in Cedars Gardens, Brighton, in January 2021.
In March, a jury of four men and eight women unanimously cleared him of murder which he denied on the ground of diminished responsibility. Four of them were in court for the sentencing today.
The court was told that Addis had admitted manslaughter on the basis that his responsibility was diminished by a brief and transient paranoid psychosis.
But today the court was told that a psychiatrist’s report, to help he assess the level of future dangerousness posed by the defendant, highlighted concerns about possible further drug use.
Pietro Addis, of Radinden Manor Road, Hove, was 17 when he killed Mrs Addis who ran Donatello, in Brighton Place, and Pinocchio, in New Road, both in Brighton.
The jury was told that the teenager, whose family had just moved to Ring Road, Lancing, had used cannabis and other drugs.
These included Xanax and more than the prescribed dose of Elvanse, his amphetamine-based medicine for ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
The judge said: “Drug usage was undoubtedly an issue.”
It was the subject of family arguments – but Pietro Addis’s drug use had dropped before he stabbed his 69-year-old grandmother 17 times in the bath at her home.
His barrister, Sarah Elliott, told the court that Sue Addis had tried to seek help for Pietro Addis’s deteriorating mental state, adding: “There was no evidence that Pietro was resistant to that.
“He told one of the psychiatrists that he wanted help but they were unable to get him help.”
But given the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns, it had been hard to obtain help and Miss Elliott added: “Had help been available, the circumstances may have been very different.”
She said: “The sentence must reflect the fact that Pietro was a child at the time of the killing.
“The person that he killed was the grandmother that he loved and was very much loved by. Sue was the mother of his only surviving parent, Leo.”
“This offence has inflicted the most enormous hurt on the Addis family.”
But neither of his uncles – Mikele and Stefano – wanted Pietro Addis to lose his life in prison. They wanted him to be able to have a go at life, Miss Elliott said, and they had said: “Mum would want that too.
“This case can properly be described as tragic.”
Judge Laing told Pietro Addis to look at her as she passed sentence and said that it was “about protecting the public and punishing you for that which deserves to be punished”.
She said: “Your grandma Sue Addis was 69 years old. I have heard that she was a highly successful and well respected businesswoman.”
Her popularity was partly a result of the huge support that she gave to charities and good causes, Judge Laing said, not just for the money that she gave, but her time, aimed at helping those who were less fortunate.
The judge said: “I have heard her described as the heart and soul of Brighton life, a stalwart of the community and someone with a generosity of spirit that drew many people to her. She was an inspiration.”
It was the greatest testament to her that she left understanding sons “who are prepared to forgive you for what you have done”.
Judge Laing said: “It is impossible to forget the evidence that I have heard … of how much she loved you and did for you.
“Nonetheless, you killed her in the most horrific manner imaginable … The terror and trauma of the final minutes of her life are unimaginable, particularly given that they were at the hands of her beloved grandson.”
The judge said that although Pietro Addis’s ability to form a rational judgment at the time of the killing was impaired, “you retain a substantial degree of responsibility for the killing.”
She said that he had shown no signs of mental illness before he started smoking cannabis and abusing his amphetamine-based Elvanse medication for ADHD (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder) – and no psychosis since his arrest.
The trial was told that he probably did not have ADHD and would not have needed Elvanse – and the drug had caused arguments between Pietro Addis and other members of his family.
Judge Laing said: “This case is an utterly dreadful example of what can come from abusing drugs including prescription medicines.
“It was a choice made by you to use and abuse these drugs. If you had not done so, it is highly unlikely that your grandmother would have lost her life.
“You were likely to have been angry at the time – angry at being denied drugs by your family.
“This is not a killing that occurred in the heat of the moment but when you took knives up the stairs while your grandma was in the bath and wouldn’t have been expecting you.”
She said that despite everything, he had the presence of mind to change his clothes and call the police after “the significant mental and physical suffering that you inflicted on Sue Addis in what must have been a prolonged attack”.
The judge said: “I am satisfied that there is a substantial risk of serious harm being caused by you committing a further specified offence.”
She had considered imposing a life sentence but it would be unjust considering Pietro Addis’s age and immaturity.
Instead, she gave him an extended 15-year sentence, made up 10 years in prison and five years on licence. He was told that he would have to serve at least two thirds of the 10-year custodial sentence before he could be considered for release.
Judge Laing asked Pietro Addis whether he understood. He said: “Yes ma’am.”
It was the only, and understandable, outcome. We have lost one of the most fantastic ladies whom many of us have ever met, or will ever meet, in our lives. I try to blame ‘drugs’ but I find it very, very difficult to do so. A strong element of ‘spoiled brat’ comes into the case and he old enough to understand that. I, personally, will never quite get over her loss.