Family blast ‘very quick sentence’ for ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ killer

A British plumber who stabbed a fellow reveller to death at a Portuguese music festival could be free in three years after judges ruled he was suffering a ‘psychotic episode’, with his victim’s family today slamming it as a ‘very short sentence’.

Joshua Menkens was charged in March with homicide, desecration of a corpse and possession of a prohibited weapon following Neil Sutcliffe’s murder towards the end of a four-day bash called the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’.

Prosecutors said at the time they accepted the 28-year-old, from the market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, may never be held criminally responsible for the horror killing.

Overnight it emerged three judges had ruled Menkens should be ‘locked up’ for ‘between three and 16 years’ after concluding he had stabbed his victim.

They said it had been proven he knifed Bolton-born artist and freelance web developer Neil more than 20 times towards the end of a four-day bash called the ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’ at a Brit-owned off-grid commune called Libelinha Venture.

They also concluded Menkens covered his victim’s body with branches and leaves in woodland near the festival site close to the central Portuguese town of Pedrogao Grande ‘with the intention of avoiding its discovery by others’

But they said he had been suffering a ‘psychotic episode’ at the time brought on by the consumption of drugs and alcohol, lack of sleep and ‘extreme stress.’

Neil’s family said today they hoped Portuguese authorities would ‘do the right thing’ and keep Menkens off the streets for as long as necessary.

They also criticised the way they were treated throughout the case, saying they had to find out from newspaper reports what was going on.

Neil’s older brother Mark said: ‘Three years for murdering someone if he’s kept in for the minimum custody period is a very short sentence

‘This man has admitted he’s got no control over himself.

‘We’ve got to believe the Portuguese authorities will do what’s right and keep him off the streets as long as necessary.

‘Nothing will bring Neil back but a longer sentence will hopefully keep others safe from this dangerous person.’

In a brief hearing yesterday at a court in Leiria, an hour’s drive south-west of the woodland spot where 35-year-old Neil’s body was found on September 24 last year, the judges categorised Menkens as ‘dangerous’ but said he couldn’t be held criminally responsible for his crimes.

They said: ‘He didn’t kill with criminal intent but as a result of psychosis which is now controlled by medication.

‘Security measures need to be applied, which will be in force for a minimum of three years and maximum of 16 years. There will be no suspension of the sentence.’

He will be deprived of his freedom until the court considers ‘the state of danger’ that led to his fatal stabbing ‘ceases.’

Menkens’ girlfriend at the time of the killing is said to have given evidence before the judges’ ruling, understood to have taken place after an initial suspension at the end of last month when the Brit was hauled to court for questioning.

It was not immediately clear whether the Brit, who had been held on remand in Santa Cruz do Bispo Prison near Porto in northern Portugal which has a psychiatric and mental health facility, will remain there or be transferred elsewhere.

The victim of the gruesome September 23 2023 killing was named for the first time in April, around the same time more details about Menkens’ mental health and the ferocity of his attack emerged in a 19-page prosecution indictment.

The dead man’s family spoke soon afterwards to reveal Neil, known to friends as Bingo, had autism and was ‘very trusting’ of others.

Portuguese prosecutors alleged in the charge sheet he was stabbed ‘at least’ 20 times with a 10-inch knife.

They said Menkens knifed his victim repeatedly in the arms, stomach, neck, chest and face and hid his body in a makeshift grave in a different place before concealing the knife and changing his blood-covered clothes.

They declared in their indictment, charging him with homicide, desecration of a corpse and possession of a prohibited weapon: ‘By transporting and hiding Neil Sutcliffe’s lifeless body under vegetation, the suspect intended to avoid its discovery by third parties and thus avoid criminal responsibility by deceiving police.’

But they added: ‘The suspect, at the time, was suffering from a mental disorder, namely a psychotic episode/psychosis.

‘His behaviour was independent of his will and determined by psychopathological factors he couldn’t control.’

They went on to confirm they understood middle-class music lover Menkens not be held criminally responsible for his actions even though a trial still had to take place under Portuguese law.

Neil was a former pupil at £4,540-per-term Bolton School, and had been living in London on a houseboat around the time he was killed.

His older brother Mark said today: ‘We didn’t attend yesterday’s hearing because we were told we wouldn’t be able to speak and it wouldn’t make much difference to the final verdict.

‘We weren’t asked for any import. We were told there was a first court hearing at the end of last month when it was adjourned until yesterday and since that first hearing we haven’t been told anything by anyone.

‘We only found out what happened from the newspapers.

‘It’s the way it’s been throughout all of this. We’ve never got any information from Portuguese officials and only scant information from the British consulate who messaged my brother last month about the initial court hearing but haven’t got back to us since.

‘The lack of official information has made everything more confusing and more stressful. I don’t know how best to describe it but there should have been someone in regular contact with us to tell us what was going on.

‘It’s been a failing as far as we’re concerned from start to finish. No family should go through that.’

Mark said earlier this year they were getting no information from Portuguese officials which ‘was not great.’

He said soon after the prosecution indictment was made public: ‘We received a message on social media from someone after Neil was killed asking me if I was his brother and telling me to contact him because he had some bad news.

‘They put me in touch with someone else and so on until we got put through to someone at the festival site who had made friends with him that weekend and told us what had happened.

‘The next minute we’re seeing pictures on social media of Neil’s body being brought out of the woods which was very traumatic.

‘We had to chase the Portuguese police for official information and it’s continued that way.’

He added: ‘Neil was very trusting of everybody and a genuinely caring person.

‘He took everyone to be his friend, even people he had just met.

‘He had autism and that could have played into him not seeing the dangers others see and getting into a car with a man he’d only just met the night he was killed and not questioning things.

‘The skills he had are very unique to people with that neurodiversity and the fact they see the world in a different place.

‘I know Neil spent most of that festival drawing pictures of people he was meeting for the first time and giving them the drawings. It’s what those who attended and I’ve spoken to have told us.

‘It was his way of making friends and being nice.’

Reports at the time of the fatal stabbing suggested Menkens had been stressed about poor ticket sales for the event at Libelinha Venture, owned by UK public school-educated Xavier Hancock and his Spanish partner Arantxa Atauri.

Around 30 British and Portuguese nationals attended the event, which in a promo was described as a ‘gathering filled with great music and fantastic souls’ and promised several DJs as well as circus performers, wellness workshops and a ‘Hatters Secret Quest.’

The indictment said Neil’s killer told a court-appointed psychiatrist he had been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the UK and referenced risk factors that could have contributed to what happened such as the consumption of ‘psychoactive substances and lack of sleep within a framework of great stress.’

Neil’s other older brother John Sutcliffe, one of five siblings, revealed in an emotional online tribute after his death: ‘We will always love you. You will be so very, very missed by everyone. You are my baby brother, my gaming buddy, my miniature-painting pal, and my creative genius friend. 

‘Even though we didn’t see much of each other over the past few years, I will miss you more than you will ever know. The world is a darker and sadder place for you not being a part of it anymore.’

Friend Georgie Ringrose added: ‘You were a real bright light on the canals. You were always such a happy vibrant human.

‘I’ll miss your wonderful collection of hats + tails, your biscuit teas, your artwork, your obsession with yellow and your incredible, incredible outfits.

‘I will never ever forget you Neil, you are so special. Thank you for the laughs.’

Josh’s Australian father Troy Menkens, who has previously called his son a ‘genuine, caring guy’, said after news emerged he had been charged: ‘It’s a very fraught time, a very slow legal system.

‘My focus is on my son who I love to bits, and it wouldn’t be right or fair to make any further comment at this stage with the upcoming trial.’

He has yet to comment on the court ruling yesterday.