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Teenager admits killing US tourist in Russell Square stabbings Teenager admits killing US tourist in Russell Square stabbings
(about 5 hours later)
A teenager has pleaded guilty to killing an American tourist and wounding five others in a series of random stabbings in Russell Square, central London, last August. A teenager who “zigzagged” through Russell Square in central London stabbing random strangers has admitted killing an American tourist and injuring five others.
Appearing at the Old Bailey on Monday, Zakaria Bulhan, 19, admitted the manslaughter of Darlene Horton, 64, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and the wounding of five others with the intent to do them grievous bodily harm. Zakaria Bulhan, 19, killed Darlene Horton, 64, a retired special needs teacher, and injured other holidaymakers and theatregoers on the evening of 3 August last year, the Old Bailey heard on Monday.
He had been due to stand trial on one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder. After pleading guilty to the lesser charges, the prosecution said it accepted his not guilty pleas to murder and attempted murder. Police were at the scene within six minutes as initial fears were of a terrorist attack in a square near to where one of the devices in the 7/7 bombings was detonated. But Bulhan, who has no previous convictions, was found to have been experiencing a psychotic episode.
The court heard that Bulhan was undergoing an acute episode of paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attacks. He denied murder but admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility. He pleaded not guilty to five counts of attempted murder, but admitted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to Martin Hoenisch, Lillie Sellentin, David Imber, Bernard Hepplewhite and Yovel Lewkowski.
The prosecutor, Mark Heywood QC, said the case had been considered at the “highest level” and it was decided that it was right to accept the pleas. The pleas were accepted by the prosecution. The court heard that Bulhan was having an acute episode of paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attacks.
Opening the facts of the case, Heywood said that on the evening of 3 August 2016 a man was seen “moving in an erratic fashion” in Russell Square, armed with a large kitchen knife. Mark Heywood QC, prosecuting, said the case had been considered at the highest level and it was decided it was right to accept the pleas.
“As he passed members of the public, he veered across the pavement towards them,” Heywood said. “Without warning or provocation, the man stabbed six people in quick succession, saying nothing to any of them, moving on after each stabbing towards his next victim.” Mr Justice Spencer ordered attempted murder charges to lie on file.
Five of the victims sustained non-fatal injuries and had made good recoveries. However, Horton received a stab wound to her back that penetrated her left lung and heart, sustaining “a devastating injury from which she died at the scene”, Heywood said. The court heard that at 10.30pm on 3 August Bulhan was seen “moving in an erratic fashion” along the pavement and armed with a large kitchen knife.
Mr Justice Spencer ordered the attempted murder charges to lie on file. Heywood said Sellentin, 23, from Australia, saw an individual “smiling and skipping” along the road and watched as he skipped towards an older couple in front of her – Hepplewhite 65, from London, and a Canadian friend he had been visiting the theatre with.
After Bulhan’s guilty pleas, Det Insp Tony Lyons, of the Metropolitan police homicide and major crime command, said: “Bulhan’s actions caused an enormous amount of fear and distress, with initial concerns this incident may be linked to terrorism. This was quickly found out not to be the case and we now know Bulhan was suffering a severe episode of mental illness. Bulhan appeared to have something in his clenched fist and seemed to skip and wave his arms in a swaying motion. He swerved towards Hepplewhite who shouted: “Ouch.”
“He clearly poses an enormous risk to the general public and I hope he can now get the help he needs.” Heywood said Bulhan skipped on towards Sellentin, who had also been visiting the theatre. She tried to move out of his way but he jumped towards her and she thought she had been punched in her ribcage.
Lyons said thoughts must remain “with Bulhan’s victims who were simply enjoying a night out on a summer’s evening when they were subjected to this terrifying ordeal. And, of course, the friends and family of Darlene Horton who so sadly lost her life.” Someone shouted: “He’s got a knife,” and Hepplewhite and Sellentin looked down to see blood and realised they had been stabbed, the judge heard.
Bulhan, who was born in Norway after his parents emigrated from Somalia, is the second of three children and was living in Tooting, south London, with his mother, siblings and stepfather at the time of the attacks. Horton was walking with her husband, Richard Wagner, the court was told, when he became aware of a commotion and suddenly a black male rushed past them and his wife said: “Ouch.” Wagner, a professor, shouted a warning to others and chased Bulhan.
He dropped out of college in April 2016 and “began to behave in an odd fashion”. After a number of consultations with his GP, Bulhan was referred to a community mental health team. The couple had been to a restaurant on their last night in London before they were due to fly back to the US.
Two days before the attacks, while his mother was in the Netherlands, there were concerns about Bulhan’s behaviour, prompting his father to collect him and take him to a mosque in Camberwell, south London. Hoenisch, 59, also an American, who had arrived in London with his wife on holiday that day, saw Bulhan running at them and raised his right arm to protect himself, then felt a sharp pain in his side as he was stabbed below his armpit.
On the evening of 3 August 2016, they attended a mosque in east London and said prayers, but the defendant got up and ran away, the court heard. Imber, 40, an Australian on holiday, was stabbed in his ribcage, and described Bulhan as having a “crazed smile”. Lewkowski, 18, who was visiting from Israel and was with her grandfather, felt a pain as Bulhan appeared to bump into her, the court heard.
Horton was attacked in front of her husband, Richard Wagner, a psychology professor at Florida State University. He had been in London teaching summer classes and he and his wife were due to fly back to the US hours after the incident. One witness said he saw the man inserting the knife into Horton’s back “up to the hilt” and shouting angrily in foreign language. Horton was pronounced dead at scene.
She reportedly died while being cradled in the lap of a Spanish tourist after trying to warn others that their lives could be in danger. Friends of Horton described the retired special education teacher as an “inspiration”. Bulhan was Tasered and then arrested by armed police. One officer said he could hear him muttering “Allah, Allah, Allah”, while others found a pamphlet entitled “Fortress of the Muslim” in the pocket of his tracksuit trousers. The judge was told that these two details were not considered relevant to the attack.
The only British victim was Bernard Hepplewhite, 67, from Kent, who was seriously injured after being stabbed in the stomach. In police interviews Bulhan said he did not know why he had committed the offences.
The other victims were: Martin Hoenisch, from the US, who was stabbed in the chest; Australians Lillie Selletin, 23, who was stabbed in the back, and David Imber, 40, who was stabbed in the chest; and Israeli Yovel Lewronski, 18, who was stabbed in her bicep. Five of the victims sustained non-fatal injuries and had made good recoveries. However, Horton received a stab wound to the back that penetrated her left lung and heart, sustaining “a devastating injury from which she died at the scene”, said Heywood.
Outlining details of the attack, Heywood said Sellentin saw an individual “smiling and skipping” along the road and watched as he skipped towards an older couple in front of her – Hepplewhite and a Canadian friend with whom he had been to the theatre. Bulhan, who was born in Norway after his parents emigrated from Somalia, is the second of three children. He was living in Tooting, south London, with his mother, siblings and stepfather at the time of the attacks.
Bulhan appeared to have something in his clenched fist and seemed to skip and wave his arms in a swaying motion. He swerved towards Hepplewhite who shouted “Ouch”. He dropped out of college in April 2016 and “began to behave in an odd fashion”, the court heard. After a number of consultations with his GP, he was referred to a community mental health team. He was being treated for low mood and anxiety, the court heard. His mother was so concerned about his rising aggression she removed knives from the kitchen.
Heywood said Bulhan skipped on towards Sellentin, who tried to move out of his way but he jumped towards her and she thought she had been punched in her ribs. Bulhan, held at Broadmoor hospital since his arrest, had been experiencing auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions. He believed he was being followed and the devil had told him to kill, the court heard.
Someone shouted “He’s got a knife” and Hepplewhite and Sellentin looked down to see blood and realise they had been stabbed, the judge heard. He said he had been hearing “cunning and manipulative” voices before the attacks, and believed magic spells were put on him when people spat in his direction, one psychiatrist reported. Another psychiatrist diagnosed paranoid schizophrenia. Of the stabbings Bulhan told one psychiatrist: “I can’t remember and I don’t want to.”
Wagner, who was walking with Horton, became aware of a commotion and suddenly a black male “rushed” past them and his wife said “Ouch”. Wagner shouted a warning to others and chased Bulhan. Bulhan, who is to be sentenced on Tuesday, faces imprisonment or a hospital order. John Jones QC, defending, said the teenager had experienced mental illness since 15 and that had “reached a crescendo” in August last year.
Hoenisch, who had arrived in London with his wife on holiday that day, saw Bulhan running at them and raised his right arm to protect himself, then felt a sharp pain in his side as he was stabbed below the armpit. His wife, Laurie Kelly, saw Bulhan zigzag past them. Arguing that Bulhan and the public would be better served if a hospital order was granted, Jones added that although Bulhan had no recollection of the stabbings, he had “an appreciation of the harm caused” and expressed “remorse, and complete regret and profound sorrow” for what he had done.
Imber described the defendant as having a “crazed smile”. Lewkowski, who was with her grandfather, felt a pain as Bulhan appeared to bump into her. Horton’s widower said in a victim impact statement: “Losing Darlene, my wife and best friend, under these circumstances is as bad as you might imagine it to be, if not worse. As bad as I feel for my loss, I feel worse for the loss experienced by my two daughters.”
One witness said he saw Bulhan inserting his knife into Horton’s back “up to the hilt” and shouting angrily in a foreign language. The family had suffered an unspeakable tragedy because of “potentially unknowable deficiencies in our system of identifying and treating individuals with mental illness”, he added. “As a result, a potential killer was allowed to walk the streets.”
Bulhan was Tasered and then arrested by armed police. One officer said he could hear him muttering “Allah, Allah, Allah”, while others found a pamphlet entitled “Fortress of the Muslim” in the pocket of his tracksuit trousers. After Bulhan’s guilty pleas, DI Tony Lyons, of the Metropolitan police’s homicide and major crime command, said: “Bulhan’s actions caused an enormous amount of fear and distress with initial concerns this incident may be linked to terrorism. This was quickly found out not to be the case and we now know Bulhan was suffering a severe episode of mental illness. He clearly poses an enormous risk to the general public and I hope he can now get the help he needs.”
In police interviews Bulhan said he did not know why he had committed the offences and that after leaving the mosque he had wandered around for hours thinking he was being followed. He said he had gone to stay with his father on 2 August because he thought people were trying to kill him. He had found the knife while walking around, possibly on a shop counter, and while he was in Russell Square he said he was hearing voices, the judge heard. The officer said thoughts must remain “with Bulhan’s victims who were simply enjoying a night out on a summer’s evening when they were subjected to this terrifying ordeal. And, of course, the friends and family of Darlene Horton who so sadly lost her life.”
While under constant watch after his arrest, Bulhan was at times heard to be shouting and saying the devil had made him, the court was told.
The hearing continues.The hearing continues.