A man who stabbed an innocent dog walker to death during a random knife rampage in west London has been ordered to remain in a secure psychiatric hospital indefinitely.
Dawood Safi, 28, killed Wayne Broadhurst, 49, after launching what the judge described as a “frenzied, random and completely unprovoked assault” in Uxbridge on October 27 last year.
Safi, who was suffering from psychotic depression and paranoid delusions, also wounded his landlord Shahzad Farrukh and stabbed a 14-year-old boy during the attack.
Hospital order with restrictions
At Southwark Crown Court on Monday, Mrs Justice Cutts imposed a hospital order with restrictions, meaning Safi can only be released if mental health specialists and the Ministry of Justice consider it to be safe.
The judge said Mr Broadhurst, who was walking his dog when he encountered Safi in the street, had the “terrible misfortune” to cross paths with his attacker.
CCTV footage published by the Met Police shows the harrowing events of October 27, as Safi wields a knife while he attempts to slash residents in a street in Uxbridge. One woman, holding what appears to be a bat, hits Safi in an attempt to drive him away from her front door as other residents come out into the street.
In another clip, a man wearing a white T-shirt and grey cardigan walks down the street towards Safi as a voice in the background shouts: “Stay back. Run!” The man runs away as Safi follows him, but escapes by entering a property. Police are then seen arriving in the street and using a Taser on Safi, causing him to fall to the ground before he is arrested.
Background and mental health
Safi, who also stabbed a 14-year-old boy during the rampage, was described as looking “possessed” as the incident unfolded. Southwark Crown Court heard Safi, who was smuggled into the UK on the back of a lorry in 2020, had suffered a “collapse” in his mental health in the days before the stabbings and was suffering delusions that his family was conspiring against him.
Mr Broadhurst, a street cleaner for Ealing Council, had the “terrible misfortune” to walk with his dog Harry past the house in Midhurst Gardens and was stabbed 14 times by Safi, said prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC.
Safi, who was born in the Kapisa province of northern Afghanistan, was smuggled in to the UK on the back of a lorry in November 2020 and lied about his age – saying he was 17 instead of 22 – to stand a better chance of asylum. Mr Laidlaw said Safi travelled through Iran, Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Belgium and the Netherlands to get to the UK, and was coached by his cousin to lie to the police and immigration authorities “to maximise his chances of gaining leave to remain”.
He pretended that his father, a fruit farmer, had been murdered by the Taliban, instead of the truth that he was killed when a land dispute turned violent, and he was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2027. Safi worked as an Uber driver, studied for a mechanics qualification at Uxbridge College, and also worked jobs as a delivery driver and in a restaurant, and had no convictions since entering the country.
Attack details and sentencing
He had sought help from doctors for his deteriorating mental health before the rampage on October 27 last year, which began as he targeted his landlord Shahzad Farrukh at their address in Midhurst Gardens in the afternoon. “Mr Farrukh went into the kitchen and saw the defendant’s silhouette on the other side of the blurred-glass door that provides access to the annex from the house,” said Mr Laidlaw. “Mr Farrukh opened the door to find the defendant holding a large kitchen knife in his right hand.”
The court heard Safi “lunged” at his landlord and stabbed him, sparking a prolonged struggle as Mr Farrukh desperately tried to fend him off. Safi was heard to shout, “you’ve ruined my life” and accused his landlord of not helping him with a complaint to police. Safi was disarmed thanks to the efforts of the teenage boy, who was himself stabbed after he intervened in the struggle. Mr Farrukh and the boy managed to seek refuge with neighbours.
The landlord had been stabbed on both sides of his neck and his chest and suffered a punctured lung, but survived the prolonged attack. Safi armed himself again with the knife and came after Mr Farrukh, but was heroically repelled in the street by neighbours, who described him as looking “possessed” and “dead between the eyes”.
The victim came walking around the corner with his dog just as Safi was in the street with the knife. Mr Laidlaw said Safi launched a “sustained, ferocious and unsurvivable knife attack for no apparent reason, rational or otherwise”. Mr Broadhurst “was stabbed to death by this defendant in a frenzied, random and an entirely unprovoked assault”, he told the court. “He died almost instantly in the street, with the dog by his side.”
The prosecutor told the judge of Safi: “There is no dispute that he suffered a collapse in his mental health in the time leading up to the terrible events of the morning of October 27 when he stabbed to death Wayne Broadhurst, who was doing no more than walking his dog on the streets of Hillingdon. The defendant was hearing voices and had been consumed by paranoid delusional beliefs, that people were talking about him and members of his family were controlling him and plotting against him.”
In her sentencing remarks, the judge acknowledged the “devastating” impact of the crime on Mr Broadhurst’s family, and added that he was “a hard-working and decent man who was deeply loved”. “Wayne Broadhurst, a gentle and quiet man, had the misfortune to be walking his dog at the time,” said Mrs Justice Cutts. “As he emerged from the alleyway on to the street, you set upon and killed him in a frenzied, random, and completely unprovoked assault involving stabbing him at least 14 times.”
The judge also recommended that Safi is deported, saying his “continued presence in the UK is to its detriment”, but added that the final decision lays with the Home Secretary.
Mr Broadhurst’s partner, Ann Newman, told the court her “future was stolen from me” and described facing up to a daily battle with grief and loss. Her sister, Laura Ireland-Cochrane, said the family has struggled to come to terms with Safi being convicted of manslaughter rather than murder. “We understand the court has to consider the evidence and reach its legal decisions, but as a family it has been extremely difficult to accept,” she said. “We are left having to live with the consequences of that decision.” She added that they also now have the worry that Safi could one day be set free again if his mental health improves.
Safi appeared for his sentencing hearing on a video link from the high-security Broadmoor hospital. The court was told Safi moved into Mr Farrukh’s annex flat in Midhurst Gardens at the start of August 2025. In the three days before the stabbings, he attended an appointment at his GP, had a mental health assessment at Hillingdon Hospital and had sought help at Hayes police station.
After the stabbings, doctors concluded Safi was suffering from psychotic depression which had led to the violent offences. Dr Elliott Carthy, who has assessed Safi at Broadmoor, said he had “paranoid and persecutory beliefs” and voices in his head contributed to his actions that day. He gave evidence that a hospital order with restrictions was the best way to protect the public “going forward now and in anticipation of his release into the community”.
Under questioning, he said Safi was likely to spend at least five years at Broadmoor before being considered for transfer to a medium security facility where he would stay for several more years, and if he is released into the community he will be under strict conditions and subject to lifelong monitoring.
Safi pleaded guilty to manslaughter, causing actual bodily harm and possession of an offensive weapon. He was found guilty by a jury of attempted murder. Prosecutors dropped a charge of murder after the guilty plea to manslaughter was entered, and after receiving expert reports on Safi’s mental health. The judge told the court she would have sentenced Safi to life in prison with a minimum term of eight years if he was not mentally unwell.
Paying tribute, Mr Broadhurst’s family said: “Our family is devastated by the tragic loss of our beloved Wayne Broadhurst, aged 49. Wayne was a kind, caring and loving man who meant the world to us. He had a heart of gold and was the type of person who would do anything for anyone. He never met a stranger and had a way of making everyone feel welcome. To those who knew him, Wayne was more than a family member or friend – he was someone you could always rely on. Wayne's passion for Liverpool Football Club was well known. He lived and breathed football, and supporting Liverpool brought him immense joy. Whether watching a match with family and friends or talking football with anyone who would listen, his enthusiasm was infectious. The loss of Wayne has left an enormous void in our lives that can never be filled. We will cherish the memories, laughter and love he gave us every day, and we will miss him beyond words. As a family, we would like to thank everyone who has shown us kindness, compassion and support during this incredibly difficult time. We also ask that our privacy is respected as we come to terms with our devastating loss. Wayne will forever remain in our hearts and will never be forgotten. You'll Never Walk Alone.”
Detective Inspector Richard MacKenzie, who led the investigation, said: “This was a shocking attack that, tragically, led to Wayne Broadhurst’s death and had a huge impact on the local community. As the tributes paid to him after his death showed, Wayne was a hugely popular member of the community and my thoughts remain with his family and loved ones. I want to recognise the devastating impact of Safi’s brutal attack on his two victims who survived the attack and to commend the exceptional bravery they showed in the face of such violence. The physical and emotional consequences of this traumatic incident are likely to be felt for many years to come. Finally, I want to pay tribute to the courageous members of the public who attempted to protect the victims from the attacker, as well as the police officers who were first on the scene of this incident.”
