We Need to Know More About This

I draw the attention of readers to the case of Matthew Tvrdon, who last October killed one person (Karina Menzies) and injured many more, using motor vehicles as his weapons on the streets of Cardiff.  Many of you will remember the  reports of this appalling event. Today, after pleading guilty to manslaughter,  attempted murder, and grievous bodily harm,  Tvrdon was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

 

Perhaps, like me, you wondered at the time of his terrible action,  how it might have come about.  Regular visitors here will, perhaps,  see the possible significance of the following facts. I personally wish to know a good deal more about Tvrdon’s earlier life than I have seen recorded or reported so far.

 

Tvrdon, according to the Daily Mirror, had been treated in the past for mental illness. I stress once more, for those determined to misrepresent my position, that by recording official classifications of mental illness I do not necessarily endorse the diagnostic method which is used to arrive at such specific categories, or accept that these categories have any objective solidity. But I would add, to avoid counter-misrepresentation by others, that this does not mean I doubt the existence of mental illness. Far from it. I regard it as increasingly common, suspect that it frequently results in many cases from physio-chemical damage to the brain itself, in many cases self-inflicted,  and believe that its incidence may well be increased by the increasing use of illegal and legal mind-altering drugs in our society.

 

It is an irritating fact, but anyone who is prepared to say anything outside the consensus now has to spend a good deal of time simply fending off mischievous and unresponsive misrepresentation by opponents who prefer this sort of smear propaganda to proper argument, and who also prefer muddy waters to clear ones. I won’t respond to this as it only encourages such people, but I will repeatedly warn readers to beware of this corrosive behaviour.

 

If possible, I would ask them not to respond to it themselves, except with rebukes. We have had several attempts to distract us from proper discussion here over the past few years, by people who take advantage of the freedom of speech I insist upon granting, and they end up wasting a great deal of time. This can be avoided if responsible contributors aren’t tempted into doing the mischief-makers’ work for them. Please ignore these nuisances if you can. If you can’t ignore them, please rebuke them. But I beg you not to treat them as if they are debating in good faith. That is not their purpose. They will respond to generosity with further meanness and obtuseness.

 

 

I must therefore ask you to beware.  If anyone attributes any thought or opinion to me, do not assume this summary or representation is correct unless it is backed by referenced and checkable quotation. My advice is to check the source in all cases, to ensure that the quotation has not in some way been doctored. Some people are not above this sort of thing.

 

Now, back to the Cardiff case:

 

The Daily Mirror said  on 6th June.

 

: ‘Taxman Matthew Tvrdon, 32, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, told police he thought Karina Menzies, 31, had been calling him names, Cardiff crown court heard yesterday.

 

He said: "I just wanted revenge on them. I just ploughed straight into them. I can't remember if the lady got back up but I just went over her again. I guess I wanted to kill her and her children." But the Daily Mirror can reveal Tvrdon was showing warning signs of his meltdown months before killing Karina and seriously injuring 17 others during 30 minutes of carnage in the Welsh capital last October.

 

One colleague says little was done about it, claiming he was bullied, persuaded to go off his medication - and once turned up to the office in chains.

 

Family, friends and colleagues had become increasingly uneasy about his bizarre behaviour in the weeks running up to the carnage.

 

‘ He attended a meeting with his line manager at the offices of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in Llanishen, Cardiff, just two days before he went on the rampage in his white Iveco van.

 

It was decided Tvrdon should be referred to mental health professionals. But before action was taken, he snapped and went on his terrifying spree.

 

Staff at the office, who do not want to be named, claim Tvrdon's behaviour had become increasingly erratic and he once turned up to work wrapped in metal chains like a straitjacket.

 

During his time there he suffered TWO breakdowns, first in 2003 and then again in 2007 - spending time in Cardiff's Whitchurch Psychiatric Hospital before being discharged and returning to work.

 

He was finally passed fit at a review in October 2011 and was told by experts to slowly wean himself off his anti-psychotic drugs.

 

One former colleague, who does not want to be named, told the Daily Mirror: "Matt started out as a normal member of staff.

 

"But pretty soon it became clear he had some problems and became difficult to deal with. He would do strange antisocial things like smoke in the rest area and became increasingly erratic in the weeks before he went crazy.

 

"He was eventually taken off the phones because it became pretty clear he could not cope with members of the public.

 

"But the management did not seem too sympathetic to him and after he had a breakdown he was basically bullied back into work.

 

"He was clearly unwell but they did not seem to care." A spokeswoman for the HMRC refused to answer any questions about Matt Tvrdon's time with the HMRC.’

 

I note that the ‘Daily Telegraph’ reported : ‘The court heard that Tvrdon's psychological problems began in his teens, and he had a family history of mental illness.’ (My note: Tvrdon is now 32 years old)

 

Today, Thursday, the BBC gave this account of the Judge’s remarks during sentencing:

 

‘Sentencing on Thursday, Mr Justice Griffiths said of Ms Menzies' death: "You ran over her quite deliberately while she and her two children were walking outside Ely fire station."

 

The judge went on to describe all the incidents of that October afternoon calling them "horrific and deliberate".

 

He said he was prepared to accept that Tvrdon's mental illness "provides the explanation" for his actions.

 

The judge also said Tvrdon was advised to reduce his medication in 2011 and he did not apportion blame to the defendant for that.

 

He later said he was prepared to accept the doctor's advice that Tvrdon's culpability for his actions of that day was low because of his illness.’