[ad_1]
A man who stabbed a social worker who was conducting welfare checks for three children has been convicted of attempted murder.
Sulai Man, 34, has admitted stabbing Themba Nkomo, 61, when he was attacked in the hallway outside his apartment in Wood Green, north London, on 6 August 2021.
However, he denied that he had any intention of killing a social worker employed by the Haringay Council.
The man was also convicted of intentionally injuring Constables David Turpin and Luke Smith. They went to help Nkomo, who had been stabbed eight times.
Nkomo was in court when the verdict was read out on Wednesday.
Although the sentencing was postponed due to a psychiatric report, KC Judge Michael Topolski praised the “huge dignity” Nkomo exercised during the trial.
“serious crime”
Topolsky went on to tell the defendant, “There is no doubt that you are now facing a very important period of detention – years of detention. That is my decision after reviewing all the reports. To do.”
The judge also praised the social worker, who he said was often “vilified” and went on to thank Nkomo for his “glittering career.”
At the Old Bailey trial, Mann, also known as Sulai Bukhari, was said to have had a long-running dispute with the Haringay Council’s social services department, which had repeatedly asked for access to his apartment to check on his children. rice field.
At the trial, I heard that there were hundreds of emails between the man and social services regarding the issue of conducting welfare checks on children.
The man told the court that he feared being classified as not resuscitable (DNR) if he contracted COVID-19 because his children are autistic.
Mann said he had read a BBC article in March 2021. The article suggested that during the pandemic his NHS policy of classifying people with special needs as DNR was in place.
The man said of the flat: Everything they needed was in that bubble and that included love and care. “
the children didn’t go out for a year
However, he refused to let his children outside, even to take a walk in the park or soak up the midsummer sun.
Jurors were shown body camera footage of police officers forcibly breaking into a woman’s apartment after failing to persuade her to open the door.
The man was outside before police arrived, wearing a mask and black hoodie and lurking in a public area with a Swiss Army-style knife in his hand.
Suddenly, the man attacked Nkomo, who had been left stranded in the hallway by the front door after police used bolt cutters to cut the chains on the door and broke into the apartment.
The defendant described the attack on Nkomo and the police as a “moment of despair”.
For legal reasons, the children in the case cannot be identified.
follow
Chris Summers is a UK-based journalist with a wide range of national coverage, with a particular interest in crime, police and law.
[ad_2]