A Johnny Depp lookalike in England who is reportedly obsessed with the Pirates of the Caribbean actor is facing time in jail after he beat a man to death for “staring at him.”
Jason Knowland, 46, of Staveley, Derbyshire, is set to be sentenced next week after he beat retired newsagent Peter Matts to death with a guitar following an all-day drinking session at The Beechers Brook, The Sun reports.
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The incident occurred on the night of June 21 after Knowland had spent a day drinking at the pub. After getting into an altercation with several other drinkers, including Matts, Knowland left but later returned to The Beechers Brook to retrieve his guitar at around 6:30 p.m. Believed to be suffering from paranoia, Knowland began accusing people of staring at him, during which time he beat Matts.
Matts suffered severe injuries to the head and died in a hospital seven days later.
Upon his arrest, Knowland told authorities that he was unable to remember the attack, claiming that he had taken co-codamol and medication for anxiety and depression and had been drinking that day. He also told authorities that he suffered from blackouts.
Knowland, who works as an artist and stonemason, also reportedly kept a “kill list” of people he believed had wronged him.
The 46-year-old was found not guilty after a jury heard of his mental health issues, including paranoia, which reportedly led to the killing. Consultant forensic psychologist Dr. Ruth Tully told the jury that after observing Knowland, she believed he was suffering from histrionic personality and paranoid personality disorder.
“In my opinion I see traits of these disorders playing out in the lead-up to this offence,” Dr. Tully said.
Dr. Tully added that Knowland’s insistence that he looked like Johnny Depp, and his apparent modeling of himself after the Pirates of the Caribbean star, was part of his personality disorder.
“Someone who desires attention and craves it might dress as Johnny Depp to get it but its distressing when they get negative attention or assume they are getting negative attention,” she said.
Knowland admitted to manslaughter and will be sentenced at a later date.
Meanwhile, the real Johnny Depp has found himself in trouble, too, after he reportedly attacked a location manager on the set of Labyrinth, which stars Depp as the real-life Los Angeles police officer who investigated Biggie Smalls’ death.
The incident occurred after the films permit expired and Depp insisted on continuing production. When the location manager told Depp that they had to leave, the actor allegedly tried to punch him, saying “I’ll give you $100,000 to punch me right now.”
Depp was eventually pulled away to keep the incident from escalating.
