Five days after being freed from jail, a man has admitted to murdering an elderly Irishman on his mobility scooter in a “motiveless” knife assault in London, reports RTE.
In August 2022, Lee Byer stabbed Thomas O’Halloran, 87, in the neck and chest in Greenford, west London.
The 45-year-old, who does not have a known address, entered a guilty plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and possession of an offensive weapon but denied murder.
Byer was freed from Wormwood Scrubs jail a few days prior, and it has since been disclosed that he had a history of convictions, reports RTE.
After mental health evaluations revealed that Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, experiencing paranoid delusions, and suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, prosecutor Gareth Patterson granted the pleas.
Mr. O’Halloran was well-known in the neighbourhood and was originally from Ennistymon, County Clare, reports RTE.
He was a musician who was “very popular” in Greenford and frequently performed for charitable causes via busking.
Social media footage from months before to the murder showed him busking to raise money for Ukraine.
On August 16, 2022, just after 5:00 p.m., a member of the public called 911 after spotting the victim riding a scooter and approaching from the corridor that connects Runneymede Gardens and Welland Gardens, reports RTE.
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