A man who killed an 87-year-old mobility scooter rider five days after being released from prison has been locked up indefinitely for the “senseless” killing.
Lee Byer, 45, was psychotic when he stabbed Thomas O’Halloran in the neck and chest in Greenford, west London, in August 2022.
He later wrote repeatedly about a “Hunger Games” scenario in which he was required to meet “contestants” and then fight or attack, the Old Bailey was told.
Five days before the killing, Byer, who had a string of convictions, was released from Wormwood Scrubs, having served a full 12-year sentence for robbery.
Man who killed mobility scooter rider, 87, five days after prison release locked up indefinitely
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Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC told the court: “Technically, he was on bail when he was released in August 2022, so these offences were committed while on bail. Some months later that allegation was discontinued.”
“From accounts from his mother and brother, there was odd behaviour but at that stage the full nature and degree of his mental illness had not been diagnosed.”
The 45-year-old, of no fixed address, denied murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an offensive weapon.
The pleas were accepted by the prosecution after mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
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Lee Byer was psychotic when he stabbed Thomas O’Halloran (above) in the neck and chest in Greenford, west London, in August 2022
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In a televised sentencing on Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC handed him a hospital order with restrictions.
The judge said it was a “senseless” and “savage” killing of a “much-loved” man with “no provocation and no rational motive”.
He noted concerns over Byer’s mental health were raised in 2020 when there were reports he was hearing voices and tried to take his own life.
O’Halloran suffered two stab wounds to the heart, one to the back and three to the neck.
A young man who happened to be passing saw O’Halloran trundling forward in his scooter before he came to a stop and slumped in his chair.
The victim was able to tell the young man that he had been stabbed.
Five days before the killing, Byer, who had a string of convictions, was released from Wormwood Scrubs, having served a full 12-year sentence for robbery
MET POLICE
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene, but despite their best efforts O’Halloran bled to death at the side of the road.
Investigators found CCTV footage of Mr O’Halloran, a retired maintenance man, and Byer heading towards the passageway where the attack happened.
When Byer emerged from the passageway, he had a bread knife in his gloved hand.
As he made his way back to his mother’s house, Byer was caught on camera depositing a knife handle in a drain.
Forensic analysis found the victim’s blood on the handle, although the blade was never found.
CCTV images of the suspect were released in the media and Byer was identified by prison officers.
