A woman has admitted killing an elderly man during a series of stabbings at a Co-op store in south Wales. Zara Anne Radcliffe, 30, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 88-year-old John Rees by reason of diminished responsibility. She denied murder. She also admitted the attempted murders of Andrew Price, Gaynor Saurin and Lisa Way, who were all injured in the incident in the village of Penygraig, Rhondda, on 5 May. The defendant appeared before Merthyr crown court via videolink from Rampton high-security hospital in Nottinghamshire where she is detained. Michael Jones QC, prosecuting, told the court the pleas were acceptable to the crown as Rampton was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the incident. Radcliffe will be sentenced on Wednesday. Jones told the court: “We have very carefully considered the evidence in this case and the psychiatric evidence which demonstrates at the time of the offending Miss Radcliffe was profoundly mentally ill and unwell. “Those pleas represent, the crown contend, the factual evidence in this case and the psychiatric evidence in this case, namely at the material time and currently, Miss Radcliffe sufferers from schizophrenia.” An inquest previously heard that Rees, who lived in the nearby village of Trealaw, was attacked while making a shopping trip during lockdown. His wife, Eunice, was waiting for him in their car outside. He died at the scene from severe blunt force trauma to the face including multiple facial fractures. In a statement after his death, his family said: “John was the very definition of a good man, extremely respected and liked in the community. He was proud of his family, proud to be a Welshman and devoted to All Saints church. We will all miss him terribly.”