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Man pleads guilty to manslaughter of grandfather Thomas O'Halloran
Lee Byer, 45, has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the manslaughter of 87-year-old Thomas O'Halloran, who was fatally stabbed while riding a mobility scooter in Greenford, west London.
Man admits killing 87-year-old who was fatally stabbed while riding mobility scooter
Lee Byer, 45, stabbed Thomas O'Halloran to death in Greenford in August 2022. A post-mortem found the victim had suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.
news.sky.com
Newly released prisoner killed elderly man on mobility scooter
Lee Byer, who had only been out of Wormwood Scrubs for five days, admits knife attack on pensioner after suffering paranoid delusions
www.telegraph.co.uk
Man admits stabbing to death busker on mobility scooter in 'motiveless attack'
Lee Byer, 45, has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the manslaughter of 87-year-old Thomas O’Halloran, who was fatally stabbed while riding a mobility scooter
www.mirror.co.uk
A convicted robber has admitted stabbing an elderly mobility scooter rider to death in a 'motiveless' attack - just five days after he was released from prison.
Lee Byer
stabbed Thomas O'Halloran - a charity busker
in the neck and chest in Greenford, west London, in August 2022.
It can now be reported that Byer had a string of violent previous convictions, and days earlier had been released from Wormwood Scrubs.
Today 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.
Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC
accepted the pleas after mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, and suffered from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
He 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.
Mr O'Halloran and the defendant were caught on CCTV heading towards the passageway where their paths crossed.
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.
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 the 18th of August 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.
It can now be reported that 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 the 11th of August 2022 Byer had been released from Wormwood Scrubs. [Note if he served 11 out of 12 years his behaviour might have been bad inside.]
