A man has been detained in hospital indefinitely for stabbing to death an 87-year-old grandfather days after being released from prison.
Lee Byer attacked and killed Thomas O'Halloran who was riding a mobility scooter in Greenford, west London, in August 2022.
Mr O'Halloran suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen in a "motiveless" attack that took place just five days after Byer was released from prison, the Old Bailey heard.
The 45-year-old pleaded guilty last month to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an offensive weapon.
He was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order by Judge Mark Lucraft KC.
The judge sent the defendant back to Broadmoor Hospital, Berkshire, where he has been receiving treatment since 1 August 2023.
Mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, and suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
One report described the ex-prisoner as a "very dangerous man" who attacked Mr O'Halloran with "no provocation", the court heard during sentencing.
Before handing down Byer's hospital order, the judge told the court how the defendant had 15 previous convictions for offences such as robbery and theft, drug offences, battery and possession of a prohibited firearm.
Byer had been released from Wormwood Scrubs Prison on 11 August having served a full 12-year sentence for robbery., just five days before he attacked and killed Mr O'Halloran.
On the afternoon of 16 August 2022, a young man found Mr O'Halloran on his scooter after the attack, the court previously heard.
Mr O'Halloran - who was originally from Co Clare, Ireland - told the member of the public he had been stabbed and his wounds were clearly visibly, the hearing was told, before he slumped over.
Despite being given first aid from members of the public and then police and medics, he was later pronounced dead at the scene.
CCTV showed Byer and Mr O'Halloran separately heading into a passageway, before Byer left with a knife handle in his hand and headed for his mum's home.
During the trial, the prosecution said that at the time of the attack, Byer was on bail over allegations that were later discontinued.
In police interviews after his arrest, Byer denied being the suspect and claimed he had been in his mum's garden or the park at the time.
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Tap hereDuring sentencing, the judge said that Byer had tried to "conceal" the "savage attack".
He was arrested just after 1.30am on 18 August and during it, he said "Murder? I was in prison at the time", the court heard during sentencing remarks.
The Old Bailey was told how Byer was obsessed with the Hunger Games and he wrote repeatedly about a scenario where he had to meet other "contestants" and fight or attack them.
Speaking on behalf of the O'Halloran family, Dennis Lintern described his grandfather as a "gentle, loving, man who spent his life working and helping everyone he could".
When he was killed, he had his accordion on his mobility scooter, the court heard, that he was known for playing while busking, to raise money for good causes.
Mr Lintern condemned Byer for his "horrendous act of cowardice". He added: "He [Thomas O'Halloran] was minding his own business doing what he loved, playing his accordion to make people smile and enjoy his music which he had done for many years."
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