A YOUNG Ropley man is awaiting sentencing following a Crown Court case during which he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his grandmother and aunt.

It seems likely that Christopher John Francis, 25, will be locked away for an indefinite period for an “horrific” act which rocked a normally peaceful village community to the core.

During his appearance at Winchester on Monday, the court heard that Francis went berserk and brutally killed his wealthy grandmother and aunt at their country home.

Eton-educated Francis was being treated with anti-depressants when he bludgeoned and stabbed to death Elizabeth Francis, 84, and her 54-year-old daughter, Teresa.

The 25-year-old professional golfer had seemed “quite normal” when making dinner at his parents’ home just minutes before the horrific crime.

After saying he was popping out to buy a bag of rice, Francis drove the short distance to his grandmother’s £1.5 million Victorian property, Wykeham House in the Petersfield Road at Ropley.

There he launched ‘a ferocious attack’ on the two women using a house brick and one of his grandmother’s kitchen knives.

After killing the pair, he got back in his car and drove 20 miles to a police station in Southampton.

He walked in covered in blood and announced to officers: “I have just killed two people.”

Police rushed to the large detached home and discovered the mother and daughter lying next to each other in the hallway.

The area was heavily bloodstained and the knife and large fragments of a house brick were found next to the bodies.

The shocking crime baffled detectives, who could find no possible motive for the terrible killings.

On Monday Francis appeared at Winchester Crown Court where he admitted killing his two relatives on December 12 last year.

Reading from a piece of paper and flanked by three psychiatric nurses, the well-spoken golfer denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Nicholas Haggan QC, prosecuting, told the court: “The victims were the defendant’s paternal grandmother and aunt, who were killed in an attack of very considerable ferocity.

“Within hours, the defendant presented himself at Southampton police station and opened a conversation with a desk officer by saying ‘I have just killed two people’.

“He was arrested and interviewed and during those interviews his behaviour was to say the least strange.

“For that reason he was assessed by a consultant psychiatrist. Despite an extensive and detailed police inquiry, no obvious motive for these killings was discovered.

“While in prison there was increasing concern for the defendant’s mental state. He was then seen by a number of psychiatrists.

“His condition deteriorated very considerably towards the end of December and in consequence the defendant was sent to Broadmoor High Security Hospital for assessment.”

The court heard that Francis, of Leafield House, Dunsalls Lane, Ropley, was assessed by three separate psychiatrists, who all agreed that he had suffered “an abnormality of mind” at the time of the killings.

As a result the prosecution accepted Francis’ plea of guilty to manslaughter.

Throughout the hearing Francis, smartly dressed in a navy blue blazer and beige trousers, showed no emotion.

The Honourable Mr Justice Steel adjourned the case for sentence and passed an interim hospital order to ensure that Francis will remain at Broadmoor until he appears in November.

The court heard that it was likely Francis would be locked away for an indefinite period.

After the case Det Sgt Doug Utting, of Basingstoke police, said: “We have found no motive for this crime. There was no possible financial gain for him.

“Francis is at home with his parents making dinner one moment, and then says he is going out to buy some rice and then goes and kills his granny and his aunt.

“The family thought he was quite normal. The first his family knew about it was when the police turned up at their door.

“He got on well with his grandparents. He’s a well educated man from a stable background which means it defies explanation.

“It’s a tragedy and a mystery for the family.”

Det Sgt Utting added: “Francis was a very talented golfer who was at a professional level. He was educated at Eton and was captain of the golf club there.”

Elizabeth’s husband, John Francis, who died in March 2001 aged 91, was a retired banker who left a £1.4 million fortune in his will.

John’s father was the renowned fishing writer Francis Francis, who is buried at Winchester Cathedral.

Christopher Francis’s father, Major John Francis, attended court on Monday but declined to comment on the case.