A psychiatrist who assessed the mental health of a teenager who killed his stepfather with an electric drill told a jury he is sure he was “psychotic” at the time.

Dr Simon Hill told Southampton Crown Court how Vladimir Ivashikin, now 22, experienced a male voice in his head telling him to kill people.

Ivashikin denies murder, having previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.

The trial was told how the then-16-year-old told doctors how the voice “took control” of his arm and “made” him hit his stepfather with a hammer.

Ivashikin killed his stepfather, Dr Barry Hounsome, during a “surprise” attack at the family home in Southcroft Road, Gosport.

He was initially moved to Bluebird House Hospital in Calmore where he was assessed multiple times by Dr Hill before later being moved to Ravenswood House Hospital in Fareham.

READ MORE: Voices told Gosport boy to kill his stepfather with drill

Giving evidence on Wednesday, Dr Hill said: “He talked about wanting to keep an optimistic mind. He hoped that whatever was wrong with him would be fixed.

“He said he was experiencing a voice telling him to kill the nurse I was with.

“He described waking up every morning after the killing as being like a nightmare that he didn’t wake from.

“I am sure that he was psychotic at the time of the index offence.”

Dr Hill added that Ivashikin’s mother wanted doctors to reduce the medication being administered, claiming that she also hears voices and that it is “normal”.

In a previous school report, he was described as “very well-mannered” and a “lovely little boy”.

The scene of the incident in Southcroft Road, Gosport.The scene of the incident in Southcroft Road, Gosport. (Image: Solent News Agency)

But the psychiatrist said: “Particularly in teenagers the onset of psychosis can be hard to spot.

"We know he was a very private individual who didn’t like talking about his experiences.

“That offence did not fit with someone that is calm, pleasant and kind at primary school. It didn’t fit.

“But it did fit with a killing in the context of psychosis based on what he was saying. His account suggests he had little or no control at the time of the killing.

“He felt controlled by an external force to kill his stepfather.

“I don’t think it did kick in overnight. It developed gradually over the course of a year. By the time of the event, those symptoms were extremely strong.”

Prosecutor, John Price KC responded by saying the doctors were “relying on the truth of what he was saying”, adding that he “forfeited his claim to consistency” when he told a nurse he had lied about psychotic symptoms.

“The jury is dealing with someone who has clearly demonstrated that ability over a period of time to deceive a team of clinicians.

“If what you say is true he killed his stepfather under the command of the voice and then immediately sets out trying to tell as many people as he can about the voice.”

The trial continues.