The attacker's family "pleaded" with experts to section him as his mental health declined before he knifed Donald Lock 39 times.
17:35, UK,Monday 16 May 2016
The family of a 79-year-old motorist stabbed to death by a man with mental health problems following a minor collision has blamed NHS failings that left him free to kill.
The criticism came as Matthew Daley was cleared by a jury of murder but convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
The 35-year-old stabbed Donald Lock 39 times after their cars were involved in a minor crash on the A24 at Findon, near Worthing, West Sussex, on 16 July last year.
The retired solicitor, who had recently been given the all-clear from prostate cancer, died at the scene as Daley drove off.
Relatives of Mr Lock said failings by the NHS Trust responsible for Daley's mental health care had allowed him to kill.
Flanked by Mr Lock's widow Maureen, their son Andrew said outside court: "As a consequence of the failings of the NHS and this verdict it is clear that dad would still be here today if they had done their job properly."
Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has apologised to Daley's family, admitting its care of him "should have been better".
But Mr Lock's family has condemned the Trust for not apologising to them.
Trust chief executive Colm Donaghy said: "We got things wrong. But I do not believe that any of our staff acted in a way which was deliberately negligent or designed to cause harm.
"They knew Mr Daley well and believed they were doing the right things to help him. We will do things differently as a result of this tragic incident."
Mr Lock was driving back from a cycling meeting on the A24 in West Sussex, when his Toyota crashed into the back of Daley's Ford Fusion at about 16mph, causing minor damage to both vehicles.
The accident happened after Mr Lock had to brake suddenly after Daley made an emergency stop.
One witness described Daley, who is being held in Hellingly medium-secure unit in East Sussex, as "expressionless" during the attack, like he was "having a passport photo" taken.
The trial at Lewes Crown Court heard Daley had been wrongly diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome and instead had an underlying paranoid schizophrenic illness that went undiagnosed for years.
Before the killing Daley's family had "pleaded" with experts to section him as his mental health declined - but doctors refused.
John Daley, his father, told jurors that when he heard his son had stabbed another man to death, "all our nightmares had come to pass, unnecessarily".
In tears, he told the court: "I am thinking to myself, this poor man and his family will have to live with my son's actions for the rest of their lives.
"They will never be able to understand what happened, their lives have been ruined, my son's life and expectations have been ruined and it didn't have to happen.
"Had I been more assertive and angry in my dealings it might not have happened."
In September 2013, he wrote a letter to his son's doctor, saying: "I am concerned Matthew could end up hurting someone or worse unless he resumes taking his medication."
The following March, in another letter he wrote: "I am worried that it will end up with a fatality unless Matthew gets help with his obsessional behaviour and the voices."
Daley confessed the killing to his mother Lynda Daley, and expressed his sorrow to police officers during a interview.
He told them: "I'm not happy that the man has died. I'm not happy that in the final minutes of his life he was in that much pain, and Idon't want to be reminded of it.
"I feel very sorry about what I have done and I don't want to see anything like that happen in my lifetime again."
Detective Chief Inspector Paul Rymarz, who led the investigation for Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: "This is a tragic case for all those involved, both families have had their lives changed forever."
Sentencing was adjourned until 8 July.
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