Moment killer calmly walks away after stabbing man, 87, to demise

A paranoid schizophrenic career criminal walked calmly away while holding a knife after fatally stabbing a grandfather on a mobility scooter in a ‘motiveless’ attack, CCTV footage shows.

Former armed robber Lee Byer, who has 15 convictions for 30 crimes, stabbed Thomas O’Halloran, 87, in the neck and chest in a west London underpass.

He was today sentenced to an indefinite hospital order at Broadmoor for the after admitting the killing, which took place just five days after being released from prison.

As Byer fled, dumping the knife shortly afterwards, his dying victim – who had been busking to raise money for Ukraine – travelled for 75 yards on his scooter desperately trying to find someone to help him before bleeding to death.

Mr O’Halloran’s family told of their fury after the prosecution accepted Byer’s plea to the lesser offence of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and dropped its murder case.

It followed mental health reports that found Byer, 45, was psychotic, hearing voices, suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia. He will now be detained at Broadmoor, a high-security psychiatric hospital under section 37 of the Mental Health Act.

Judge Lucraft said: ‘Thomas was clearly a much loved man and the head of an extended family.

‘One can only imagine the impact of the violence towards this gentle man and all those who knew him.

‘No words can cover the grief they feel for this senseless killing.

‘It was clearly a savage attack.

‘I know the family may find the decision I have made difficult to understand, but if I can give them any assurance this case has been considered by two of the country’s leading forensic psychiatrists.’

The judge said it is too early to say how well Mr Byer will respond to treatment and he may have posed a risk to others if sent to prison.

He told Byer: ‘There is a possibility you will be in hospital for the rest of your life. You will certainly need long-term and life-long treatment.’

Byer will remain at Broadmoor Hospital, and will only ever be released with the permission of the Justice Secretary.

Concerns were first raised about Byer’s mental health in prison in autumn 2020 when he was hearing voices and it was believed he may have paranoid schizophrenia.

He was given antipsychotic medication but this was stopped in early 2021.

In February 2022 he had an altercation with another prisoner and ‘enduring mental illness’ was noted but he was not returned to prison.

In the notes in the months leading up to his release from prison there were no entries relating to mental health.

Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC said the defendant’s mental state provided an explanation for what was a ‘motiveless attack’.

Grandfather Mr O’Halloran was originally from Co Clare in western Ireland and had been well known in the local community.

He was said to be a passionate musician and described as ‘very popular’ in Greenford, often busking for charity.

Footage on social media showed him busking to raise money for Ukraine months before the killing.

Shortly after 4pm on August 16, 2022, police received a 999 call from a member of the public who found the victim on his scooter coming from a passageway that runs between Runneymede Gardens and Welland Gardens.

Mr O’Halloran was able to tell the passer-by that he had been stabbed, although wounds to his body were clearly visible, the Old Bailey has previously heard.

The police arrived within minutes and Mr O’Halloran had collapsed and was being helped by members of the public.

Police and medics took over first aid but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.54pm.

A post-mortem examination found he had suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.

Mr O’Halloran and the defendant were caught on CCTV heading towards the passageway where their paths crossed.

The footage showed that, apart from Byer, no-one else went into or out of the area when the victim was attacked.

When he left the passageway, a knife could be seen in Byer’s hand. 

He was caught on camera depositing a knife handle in a drain in Haymill Close on the way back to his mother’s house.

Forensic analysis found the victim’s blood on the handle, although the blade was never found. 

Clothes matching those seen on CCTV were found in a search of the property as well as a knife set with handles similar to the one found in the drain.

After CCTV images of the suspect were released in the media, Byer was identified by people working in the criminal justice system.

After being arrested at his mother’s house on August 18, Byer told police: ‘Murder, I was in prison at the time.’

Clothes matching those seen on CCTV were found in a search of the property as well as a knife set with handles similar to the one found in the drain.

Police also alleged Byer had tried to burn the clothes he was wearing in his mother’s garden.

In police interviews, he denied being the suspect caught on CCTV, claiming he was in his mother’s garden or the park at the time.

Byer had 15 previous convictions recorded against him for 30 offences dating back to when he was 14.

In 2011, he was convicted of robbery and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

On August 11 2022, Byer had been released from Wormwood Scrubs.