Dawood Safi, 28, an Afghan refugee who lied about his age to gain leave to remain in the UK, has been ordered to be held indefinitely in a secure hospital after fatally stabbing street cleaner Wayne Broadhurst, 49, in a psychotic knife rampage in Uxbridge.
On Monday, Mrs Justice Cutts ordered that Safi be held indefinitely in a secure hospital to receive mental health treatment, after finding he was 'in a psychotic state' at the time of the stabbings. 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.
Knife rampage in Uxbridge
The attack began at Safi's home in Midhurst Gardens, Uxbridge, on October 27 last year. Minutes before killing Mr Broadhurst, Safi, who worked as an Uber driver, had attacked his landlord, Thames Valley Police contractor Shahzad Farrukh, while gripped by paranoid delusions and hearing voices in his head. Safi also stabbed a 14-year-old boy during the rampage and was described as looking 'possessed' as the incident unfolded.
Mr Broadhurst, a street cleaner for Ealing Council, had the 'terrible misfortune' to walk with his dog Harry past the house and was stabbed 14 times by Safi, said prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC. Safi admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility, was convicted of attempting to murder Mr Farrukh and pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm against the teenage boy as well as possession of the knife.
Court hears of 'frenzied' assault
'Wayne Broadhurst, a gentle and quiet man, had the misfortune to be walking his dog at the time', the judge said. '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.'
Mr Broadhurst's partner, Ann Newman, told the court she had had a 'future 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.
Background and mental health
Safi, who was born in the Kapisa province of northern Afghanistan, was smuggled into 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.
The court heard Safi 'lunged' at his landlord and stabbed him, sparking a prolonged struggle. Safi was heard telling Mr Farrukh 'you've ruined my life' and making comments that suggested he was angry with his landlord for not helping him with a complaint to police. Safi was disarmed and Mr Farrukh, with the boy who had been stabbed when he intervened in the struggle, 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 repelled in the street by neighbours. Mr Broadhurst, an avid Liverpool fan, came around the corner 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'. 'He died almost instantly in the street, with the dog by his side.'
Safi appeared for his sentencing hearing on a video link from the high-security Broadmoor hospital. 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'. 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.
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.
