A Bucks man who threatened to kill his father before stabbing him with a kitchen knife has been found not guilty of attempted murder.

Following a trial last week at Aylesbury Crown Court, a jury found that Ashley Fitzsimons did not attempt to murder his father, Kevin Fitzsimons, but did find him guilty on a lesser charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

During the trial, the court heard how on October 15, Ashley Fitzsimons, aged 24, lodged a kitchen knife about an inch deep in his father’s arm.

The jury was told that the fact Ashley Fitzsimons had stabbed his father was not in dispute, but that his intention – whether he wanted to kill his father or simply wound him – was unclear.

Ashley Fitzsimons lives with ADHD, autism and Tourette’s, and was a binge drinker.

The court heard how on the day of the incident, at around 7.30pm, Kevin Fitzsimons had returned home from the pub to find his son standing on the roof of their conservatory.

Concerned for his son’s safety, he went upstairs and dragged him off the roof and into one of the bedrooms. At this point, Ashley Fitzsimons started attacking his father, getting him into a corner and punching and scratching him.

After a while, Ashley Fitzsimons became upset and apologetic, crying and hugging his father, but shortly afterwards the altercation continued downstairs.

In the kitchen, Ashley Fitzsimons picked up an eight-inch knife from the knife block and thrust it towards his father, who raised his arm towards it to defend himself.

The knife became lodged in Kevin Fitzsimons’s arm and caused him heavy bleeding.

Prosecutor James Lofthouse made the case that Ashley Fitzsimons did intend to murder his father at their home in Mill Lane, Stokenchurch, and told the jury that he had said more than once that he was “going to f****** kill you” when he was on the conservatory roof and in the upstairs bedroom.

While on the witness stand, Kevin Fitzsimons accepted that while his son had threatened to kill him, he had taken the threats “in jest”, and that both had threatened to kill the other “jokingly” in the past.

Kevin Fitzsimons also told the court that his son had endured a tough time mentally in the days leading up to the incident after he had told him he would have to sell their home, along with the cabin that Ashley Fitzsimons lived in on the family’s property.

He said: “We put our house on the market because of my imminent redundancy, so he loses his cabin, which he paid for with his own money.

“His grandad’s terminal illness, and his job, his hours had been cut. All these things manifested; he couldn’t deal with it all.”

After deliberating, the jury was not convinced that Ashley Fitzsimons had intended to kill his father, but was satisfied that he intended to cause him serious harm, convicting him of wounding with intent to commit grievous bodily harm.

He will be sentenced in July.