Death of a Busker, the Slaying of a Schoolboy

 Well, it gives me no pleasure to say that I was right in saying what I did. On March 4th, I wrote that:

"I am sure that I will be writing about this topic again..."

That topic, of course, being the murder of innocent members of the public by released mental health patients. I have written about this subject for a number of years and had no illusions about the fact that such a murder could happen again. What I did not expect was to be writing about two such murders, one committed in 2022 and the other carried out this morning. The first was of the gentleman seen in the photo above: 87-year old Thomas O' Halloran.

On August 16,2022, Mr O'Halloran was riding his motor scooter home from a shopping trip to his local Tesco in Greenford, London. He was often seen to be busking there, as well as Greenford Station, where he played his accordion to raise funds for local charities, as well as for the victims of war in Ukraine. Originally from Ennistymon, County Clare, in Ireland, Mr O'Halloran left Ireland in the 1950s in search of better opportunities in England, but returned home annually.

It was Mr O'Halloran's misfortune that day in 2022 to encounter 45-year-old Lee Byer in an underpass of the A40. Byer, entirely at random, attacked Mr O'Halloran with appalling ferocity. As The Independent says, Mr O'Halloran did not die on the spot, but...: 

"Thomas O’Halloran rode his scooter 75 yards down the road after he was stabbed, trying to flag down members of the public for help in Greenford, west London, before collapsing of his wounds."

London's Air Ambulance attended, but despite the best efforts of the medics, Thomas died at the scene.
The subsequent post-mortem examination found that Thomas had been stabbed ten times.

Immediately after the attack, The Metropolitan Police began the search for the culprit, As they say:

"Following the attack, police moved very quickly to use the CCTV images of the suspected attacker to issue a media appeal. Several prison officers, who had dealt with Byer whilst he was in prison, saw the media appeals and reported his identity."

As well they might have known him, as he had been released from Wormwood Scrubs just five days prior to the attack and had a number of previous convictions. Again, as The Independent says:

 "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 and was only released from Wormwood Scrubs on 11 August".

 He was arrested in Southall in the early hours of August 18th. The rest of his story is depressingly familiar. This Monday, Byer denied murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an offensive weapon. The Prosecutor, Gareth Patterson KC accepted the pleas after mental health reports found Byer was psychotic, hearing voices, suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia. Now, where have we heard of those before? And why were they not detected earlier, during one of Byer's spells in prison? Do not expect a quick answer - if any.

Five days after his death and following Byers' arrest, over 100 people gathered together to pay a musical tribute to Mr O'Halloran at the place where he died. Many were local Irish people, but all who attended expressed their distress and shock at the brutal murder of a much-loved member of the community. Mr Gerry Hehir, who knew Thomas O'Halloran, described Mr O'Halloran as "very quiet and professional", adding that he was "a very loving man and a very caring man...He will be very well remembered for everything he's done for the community," he said.

The BBC says: 

"Local parish priest Father Tom Daly led the community in prayer. He said: 

"We pray today for Tom, who died so violently. In the face of this kind of awful incident, we don't know what to do and people feel completely helpless."

Father Daly, along with the rest of us, must be feeling that feeling of helplessness again. This morning, a 14-year-old boy lost his life after another of Byers' ilk went berserk with a sword in a different part of London - this time in Hainault. The Standard reports: 

"A 14-year-old boy has died after a man wielding a sword attacked five people including two police officers in east London. The officers and two members of the public remain in hospital following the stabbings in Hainault. None of their injuries are believed to be life-threatening but both police have ”significant injuries” and require surgery. A 36-year-old suspect remains in custody after being Tasered by police and arrested at the scene".

A witness, James Fernando, described the horrific moment the boy was stabbed, saying: 

“I saw a guy get out of a grey Transit after crashing into a house. I saw him struck a boy with the sword. Police turned up and he ran. I stood next next to the boy. It looked like he was gone. I was in total shock. He was in sports clothes. I can’t stop seeing the boy’s face".

So, another innocent victim murdered and another community traumatised. Another family bereaved and two more mental health patients have taken lives for no valid reason. Regrettably, I foresee no end to the posts I write on this topic. I have expressed hope for many years that things would improve, but these senseless murders continue. All I can do - and I am sure that I speak for all who read this - is to send condolences to the relatives of Thomas O'Halloran, both here and in Ireland (Mo chomhbhron o chroi!) and those of the as-yet-unnamed 14-year-old boy killed in Hainault, all of whom must be suffering untold grief. Our sympathies should also go to the four people injured by the Mad Swordsman, especially the two police officers, who suffered horrific injuries. Lee Byer and the Hainault Swordsman will spend a long time being looked after in a secure mental health unit, from whence they might be released back into the community, to kill again. We all really need to recognise that Byers and the sword-carrying psychopath are not isolated cases. There are many more like them on the streets, and any one of us, our family and friends could become their victims. It is in our best interests to lobby for a solution to this problem which has claimed too many lives already.

Footnote, 2/5/24:

I felt compelled to give a name to the 14-year-old boy murdered in Hainault. His name, as the world knows now, is Daniel Anjorin. Marcus Arduini Monzo, 36, is due before Westminster Magistrates' Court today facing a number of charges:  two counts of attempted murder, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a bladed article, as well as the murder of Daniel. It has, rightly, been pointed out to me that we do not know Monzo's psychiatric condition as yet, although I doubt that he will be judged as being of sound mind. Nor has it been established that he is a released mental health patient. My answer to that is to say that I hope Monzo is never released.

So, a busker of 87 and a schoolboy of 14 - two very different people, both innocent victims of random psychopathic violence. To my mind, they have achieved a kind of unity, which  I commend to their memory in this short verse:

The wrong place, the wrong time,

But what did you do wrong?

Shine on now together,

Daniel and Tom.