A man who has displayed schizophrenic symptoms since he was a teenager killed an 18-year-old in Portsmouth with a zombie knife and assaulted two others.
Aimen Ahmed was sitting on the steps of the Portsmouth Guildhall at 11pm on July 29, 2023 with friends, watching a football match on a phone.
The group were approached by 23-year-old Donnell Charles, who left the area after a brief chat.
Charles returned around 10 minutes later and hit a member of the group with the hilt of a zombie knife and attacked another, causing a minor wound to his neck, Hampshire Constabulary said.
He then stabbed Ahmed in the abdomen and escaped on an e-scooter.
Officers and paramedics tried to save Aimen but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Armed police arrested Charles on July 31, 2023 on St David’s Road.
He was charged with murder, attempted murder, assaulting occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of a bladed article and failing to disclose a pin code to a phone.
Charles pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article and failing to provide personal data, but denied the charges of murder, attempted murder and assault occasioning actual bodily harm, causing the case to go to trial on October 28, 2024.
The court heard from psychiatric experts during the 13-day trial, and it was made known that Charles started displaying symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia when he was 18.
This diagnosis was reviewed and clinically confirmed by a psychiatrist at Broadmoor Hospital.
The same doctor gave the opinion that Charles was suffering from schizophrenia at the time of the incident and that his illness was likely to have substantially impaired his ability to form a rational judgement.
On November 14, Charles entered a plea to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and pleaded guilty to two counts of actual bodily harm.
The court accepted these admissions.
Charles appeared at Portsmouth Crown Court today for sentencing and received a Hospital Order with no limitation on time and an additional Restriction Order.
This means he will be detained in hospital rather than prison.
Detective Inspector Elizabeth Brunt, senior investigating officer for the case, said: “We hope that today’s result brings closure, but also some level of comfort to Aimen’s foster family, as they now know that the person responsible for his death has admitted his guilt and been brought to justice.”
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