The family of a grandfather who was stabbed to death in his mobility scooter said they are "disgusted" that the assailant's murder charge has been dropped without their knowledge
Lee Byer stabbed 87-year-old Thomas O'Halloran in the neck and chest in Greenford, west London, in August 2022. On Monday, the 45-year-old, of no fixed address, denied murder but pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an offensive weapon.
Byer will be sentenced on May 10, but the decision of the prosecution to drop the career criminal's murder charge was condemned by O'Halloran's family. The victim's daughter Jeanne, 64, said the family were not consulted about the decision to drop the charge. She told The Times: "We were given no choice, they just told us what they were going to do. There was no consultation. I am disgusted by this, he will be freed from prison to kill again.
"We knew he had a previous conviction for robbery but we didn’t know he had just come out of prison when he killed my dad. The family would have preferred for him to have a murder trial so we could see justice being done and let normal people decide if he is guilty or not."
It can now be reported that Byer had a string of previous convictions, and days earlier had been released from Wormwood Scrubs. Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC accepted Byer's pleas after mental health reports found he was psychotic, hearing voices, suffering from paranoid delusions and paranoid schizophrenia.
He said the defendant's mental state provided an explanation for what was a "motiveless attack". Grandfather Mr O'Halloran was originally from Co Clare in western Ireland and had been well known in the local community. He was said to be a passionate musician and described as "very popular" in Greenford, often busking for charity. Footage on social media showed him busking to raise money for Ukraine months before the killing.
Shortly after 4pm on August 16 2022, police received a 999 call from a member of the public who found the victim on his scooter coming from a passageway that runs between Runnymede Gardens and Welland Gardens.
Mr O'Halloran was able to tell the passer-by that he had been stabbed, although wounds to his body were clearly visible, the Old Bailey had previously heard. The police arrived within minutes and Mr O'Halloran had collapsed and was being helped by members of the public. Police and medics took over first aid but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.54pm. A post-mortem examination found he had suffered multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.