When police arrived at the home of Emad Samir Botros Farag on April 1, 2025, it looked like something from a horror movie. The 57-year-old father was bludgeoned with a hammer as his 11-year-old son screamed for help. Shockingly, the brutal scene began with Farag’s older son, Fabio Botros, then 19, attacking his father. The teenager had become obsessed with the Child’s Play movie franchise and kept multiple Chucky dolls in his bedroom. It appears he wanted to act out what he saw in the films and his father became his victim.
According to Brighton and Hove News, the attack happened at a home in Brighton, East Sussex, in England. Neighbors reported hearing screaming from inside the home and called police for help. When emergency responders arrived, they found Farag with serious injuries. He died a short time later. Botros’ mother, 49-year-old Maria Rosa Marvin, and his brother also reportedly were injured at the hands of the teenager.
The attack stemmed from an argument Botros had with his father about packing for an upcoming trip, the BBC reported. The teenager apparently became enraged and hit Farag in the head with the hammer.
@publicinterestuk #attack #brighton ♬ this feeling – Øneheart
“Botros then opened a drawer and took out a large kitchen knife before stabbing the woman in the face,” prosecutors said, according to the BBC. “The boy was also hit on the head with the hammer.”
Prosecutor Ryan Richter claimed Botros had a strange obsession with Child’s Play. “He had become fixated with horror films. He spent considerable sums amassing a collection of Chucky dolls,” Richter said in court, per The Sun.
According to The Sun, Botros had lived with mental health concerns for a long time. He spent time at Eastbourne Psychiatric Hospital in 2024, and doctors gave him anti-psychotic medications.
The facility ultimately released Botros, and doctors changed his medication, which Judge Christine Laing KC believes caused the tragedy in April 2025.
“It is a cruel aspect of this case that the anti-psychotic medication was substantially reduced as those treating him thought his difficulties might be due to autism and depression,” she said. “He declined very rapidly, leading to these utterly tragic events. The reduction in his medication led to this breakdown.”
Just weeks before the killings, Farag asked for an emergency assessment from doctors, but sadly, the appointments the teen had on March 18 and March 20, 2025, did not result in any major changes. The court sentenced Botros to an indefinite stay in a psychiatric facility.
It’s tragic that sometimes doctors don’t take mental health more seriously. We don’t know if they could have prevented this family’s heartache, but perhaps this case will serve as a reminder of the worst-case scenario and inspire them to do better.
