A man with paranoid schizophrenia has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a healthcare assistant at Wotton Lawn Hospital in Gloucester. Sharon Wall, 53, was stabbed in the back by 62-year-old Ryan Matthews shortly after she started her morning shift on 9 July last year.

Matthews pleaded guilty to Sharon’s murder at Bristol Crown Court in December and appeared again today for sentencing. Matthews, who has changed his name several times, was convicted under the name of Stephen Cecil King for two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to murder in 1983 and was still serving a life sentence when he attacked Sharon, in the corridor of the Montpellier Unit of Wotton Lawn, an acute Mental Health Hospital.

He had been suffering deteriorating mental health since 1999 and, after moving prison to Broadmoor in 1999 under the provisions of the Mental Health Act, had received a number of hospital placements. He arrived in Wotton Lawn in 2012 but was due to be moved to Ty Catrin Hospital in Cardiff on the day he killed Sharon. He stabbed her twice in her back with a knife in the corridor next to his room.

Sharon collapsed and despite the efforts of colleagues, paramedics and hospital staff she could not be saved.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Porter said: “This is a dreadful case in which a dedicated public servant turned up at her workplace only to lose her life in the most brutal way. “People who worked with Sharon say she was a very competent, hard-working healthcare assistant - her family are devastated by their loss. “Ryan Matthews had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and anti-social personality disorder but his condition had been managed with medication. “We don’t know exactly where the knife he used came from but do know that the hospital has strict security measures in place and that no knife was found to be missing. “We have referred and supported the Health and Safety Executive with their investigation into the safety measures in place at the hospital. “Our thoughts remain with Sharon’s family at this time.”

The family of Sharon Wall said in a statement: “When she went to work six months ago, we would have never of imagined that she would not be returning home that day. She was killed whilst doing something that she loved, ‘caring for others’ and she was brutally murdered by someone who she was caring for and trying to help. We take no satisfaction in Ryan Matthews’ sentence today, as his life will not change from this. He has ruined our lives and no sentence will bring Sharon back to us. We would like to thank our family, friends and Gloucestershire Constabulary for their support during this dreadful time, however we eagerly await the findings of the investigations by the NHS and at the Health and Safety Executive to understand how this managed to happen to Sharon and what can be learnt from her death."

Matthews was sentenced to 25 years.