A paranoid schizophrenic who stabbed a man to death with a samurai sword before walking in to a police station and confessing has been jailed.
Marc Carter cut Gino Nelmes 18 times - including stabbing him through the heart, liver and spleen - when the pair were residents at a supported housing property in Filton Avenue, Bristol, in March last year.
Carter pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was given an indeterminate public protection order at Bristol Crown Court today.
He must serve at least 12 years before he can be considered for parole, Avon and Somerset Police confirmed.
Speaking after the case, the victim's adoptive parents, Tony and Cheryl Nelmes, said: "Gino was a loving, caring person whose smile was infectious.
"He had gone through a tough period in his life which we now know was due to mental health problems. Once these were diagnosed and he was given appropriate care and treatment, he was able to turn his life around.
"In recent years, Gino was the happiest that we have ever seen him. He had a loving family that he adored - he also had a partner and two young children that he absolutely doted on.
"For us, the pain of losing Gino has at times been unbearable. Thoughts of his last moments constantly fill our minds. There have been times when we have struggled to cope and wondered how we would ever get through this terrible time."
Carter had been an in-patient at Fromeside secure hospital until just a few days before he attacked Mr Nelmes.
He was living in Filton Avenue when a fellow resident raised the alarm at around 4.30pm on Saturday March 17, when he said there was "something wrong with Gino".
Emergency services were called, by which time Carter, 46, had already visited a friend in another part of the city and confessed to being responsible for the death.
Prosecutor Ian Pringle QC said: "There, to his friend, he admitted he just attacked somebody 'pretty badly' with a sword.
"At 6.15pm, Carter arrived at Trinity Road police station and stated to the lady present: 'I've just stabbed someone with a knife'.
"He told them the sword was in his bedroom. A short samurai sword was found in his bedroom, bloodstained, with his fingerprints on the handle."
Mr Pringle said there were no witnesses to the incident, and Mr Nelmes was pronounced dead at 6.20pm at Bristol Royal Infirmary. A post-mortem examination showed that he died from blood loss caused by multiple stab wounds.
The court heard that Carter has been a paranoid schizophrenic "for many years".
Carter admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Edward Heath said: "This was a tragic and senseless killing of Gino Nelmes, a young man who had his own problems but was coping and living well in a supportive environment.
"Marc Carter suffered from paranoid schizophrenia back in March 2012 and this condition severely impaired his thought processes that day last year and his illness clearly contributed to Gino's death."
Mr Nelmes' family also praised the police for their support during the case.