Man accused of knifing girl within the neck at a bus cease outdoors Birmingham’s Bullring is simply too unwell to seem in court docket
A MAN accused of stabbing a woman to death in an ‘unprovoked’ attack at a bus stop was too unwell to appear in court this morning.
Katie Fox, 34, was knifed in the neck outside the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham.
She was rushed to hospital after the attack on November 7 last year but died from her injuries three days later.
Djeison Rafael, 21, described by police as a black British national, was later charged with her murder.
He was due to enter pleas before a judge at Birmingham Crown Court today via video link from HMP Long Lartin.
But the court was told Rafael, of Smethwick, West Midlands, was too unwell to appear.
He is accused of murder, two counts of causing ABH on October 27 and November 7, possessing a bladed article and assaulting a detention escort officer.
Katie’s boyfriend, Gary Morris, watched proceedings from the public gallery today with members of her family.
Katie Fox’s family said her loss is ‘so hard to bear and so hard to comprehend’
The 34-year-old was stabbed in the neck in an unproked attack just yards from Birmingham’s New Street station
Police at the scene of the stabbing, when a section of the road was closed
The hearing was adjourned until July 24.
In a tribute after her death, relatives said Katie was the ‘shining light’ in their lives and ‘special in every way’.
She was attacked on Smallbrook Queensway, opposite the main entrance to Birmingham New Street station.
Rafael is due to stand trial in front of a High Court judge on October 6.
In the tribute released through police following Ms Fox’s death, her family said the 34-year-old was ‘so beautiful and kind’.
They added: ‘A part of us was snatched away on that very fateful night. A part of us also vanished suddenly when you passed away, leaving us all with such sadness and heartache.
‘You were a shining light in our lives, you were so special in every way, you were everything a daughter could be and much more.
‘Your loss to us has been so hard to bear and so hard to comprehend, but we know that you are still with us and giving us the strength in every way. You are our guardian angel.
‘God bless you Katie our special and gentle daughter.’
