A psychiatrist believes a man accused of murdering his mum does not have "diminished responsibility", and his mental health was made worse by taking drugs and alcohol rather than him having a disorder. 

Stephen Ball, 32, was arrested after his mum Susanne Galvin was badly injured at their shared flat on Pear Avenue in Bury on September 16 last year.

Mrs Galvin was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where she died two days later.

Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb gave the cause of her death as “blunt force head injury".

When Ball was arrested that evening a pair of Asics trainers were seized, and examination of the patterns matched those on Ms Galvin’s face.

Last week, prosecutor Gordon Cole KC told Bolton Crown Court said this was “consistent with stamping” on her face or head.

Read more: Doctor believes man had mental relapse prior to mums’ death

Ball is on trial after admitting to manslaughter but he denies murder.

Dr Inti Qurashi, a psychiatrist based at Ashworth High Secure Hospital in Maghull where Ball is staying, told the court that he had three separate meetings with him regarding his mental state.

On Monday, psychiatrist Dr Nikhil Khisty said he thinks that at the time of Mrs Galvin’s death, Ball was suffering from a serious relapse of schizoaffective disorder, which was aggravated by drugs and alcohol use before the killing.

But yesterday, Tuesday, Dr Qurashi said he thinks Ball had depression and anxiety, which was aggravated by drugs and alcohol, instead of schizoaffective disorder.

Dr Qurashi believes Ball’s diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder only showed itself after the killing as in previous mental health assessments, schizoaffective disorder was never found or officially diagnosed.

The court heard Ball was admitted to Ashworth in January this year, however the schizoaffective diagnosis was made several months after his arrival.

Read more: Bury man accused of killing mother at Bolton Crown Court

Dr Qurashi said he believes Ball’s mental health deteriorated after the killing due to stress from being arrested and detained. He also thinks Ball deteriorated while he was at HMP Forest Bank.

When asked about drug use affecting mental health, he said that Ball had been taking illicit substances from around the age of 15, and his use of cannabis and cocaine was described as “extensive” from July last year until Mrs Galvin's death a couple of months later.

During an interview with Ball, Dr Qurashi said Ball told him “cocaine made him psychotic".

Dr Qurashi also said Ball probably had depression and anxiety but added “fuel to the fire” by using significant amounts of drugs that aggravated his mental health.

He backed up this statement by mentioning that Ball’s grandmother Mary Galvin had stayed with Ball and his mum in the week before the killing and said he presented as well.

However, he began to use drugs once she left which may have led to what happened.

Therefore, Dr Qurashi said he cannot say that Ball was suffering from an abnormality of mental functioning during the killing, and it is likely this arose from drug use.

Ball also never provided an explanation as to why he killed his mum.

Read more: Man charged and victim named after murder probe

Dr Qurashi also mentioned Ball had committed previous offences while under the influence of drugs and alcohol and said: “I think we have a plausible explanation because of possibly trying to get money to fuel a drug habit.”

This was drawn from evidence which said that Ball called his mother a “thieving bitch” and was irritable towards her during a visit to Cash Converters, however this theory was never proven.

Dr Qurashi said he does not believe Ball has "diminished responsibility" regarding killing his mother, contrary to Dr Khisty's belief.

The trial before the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh continues.

All evidence in the trial, before the Honorary Recorder for Bolton Judge Martin Walsh, has now been presented to the jury, who are expected to start their deliberations today, Wednesday.