LONDON MAN RECEIVES INDEFINITE HOSPITAL ORDER FOR BROTHER'S DEADLY STABBING
The brother of British champion mixed martial artist Jahreau Shepherd has received an indefinite hospital order following the fatal stabbing in .Jahreau Shepherd, known as The Nightmare, was fatally wounded by his 19-year-old half-brother, Dwight Freeman, during a celebration of his 30th birthday at a party in Kennington on 11 July 2020.
Freeman last month pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility and wounding Joel Belgrave, a friend of the victim, with intent.
Dr.
Emmanuel Okoro testified that Freeman’s paranoid schizophrenia played a significant role in the offences.
Judge Richard Marks QC handed him a hospital order with no time limit.
The court heard Freeman, who suffered from severe mental illness possibly exacerbated by habitual cannabis use, had mood swings and had terrified his mother prior to the attack.
Despite being scheduled for medical appointments, Freeman failed to attend.
The incident occurred at a birthday party and barbecue in a park, where witnesses saw Freeman, wearing black and his hood up, attacking the victim with weapons described as a machete, Samurai sword, and large zombie knife.
He inflicted 13 wounds on Jahreau Shepherd, with fatal injuries about 7 inches deep.
Freeman only ceased the attack after a bottle was thrown at him, causing him to drop a weapon.
Another man, Joel Belgrave, tried to intervene and was also stabbed, suffering a punctured lung.
Freeman fled the scene, discarding a knife, and was later arrested in Cornwall after disguising his appearance by dyeing and shaving his hair.
Diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in custody, he was sentenced to a hospital order by Judge Marks, who noted that Freeman's severe violence indicated an intention to kill, as Mr Shepherd was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detective Sergeant Ben Dalloway from Scotland Yard described Jahreau Shepherd as a well-loved figure, emphasizing the tragic nature of the case, where a family has lost multiple loved ones.
