KILLER WHO STABBED GRANDMOTHER AT BUS STOP DETAINED INDEFINITELY
A paranoid schizophrenic who fatally stabbed a grandmother at a bus stop has been detained indefinitely.Jala Debella, 24, attacked medical secretary Anita Mukhey, 66, in front of shocked passers-by in north London at about 11.50am on May 9 2024.
He stabbed her 18 times before he “casually” walked away while people rushed to help the victim.
At a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Debella was sentenced to a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and a restriction order under Section 41 – meaning he can be detained indefinitely.
Addressing his remarks to an empty dock as Debella was not in court, Judge Philip Katz KC said: “Anita Mukhey was the heart of the family.
She was a wife, mother and grandmother, aged 66 when she was stabbed to death by a complete stranger on a busy main road in north London.” During a trial of issue, held after the defendant was deemed too unwell to stand trial for murder, the court heard Debella was obsessed with gory online videos and had been able to buy a hunting knife over the internet, despite living in a residential home supporting people with mental health problems.
The knife was delivered to his home in Colindale, north London, around an hour before he used it to stab Ms Mukhey to death, an act which mirrored violence he had watched.
In a statement which was read to the court, Ms Mukhey’s husband Hari said the grandmother-of-two was the “centre of our home”.
He said: “Her absence has left silence that nothing can fill.” The court heard Debella had suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and arrangements had been made for his continued admission at Ashworth High Secure Hospital in Merseyside.
Debella also searched on his computer for “killing video” and visited a website containing graphic violent content before the attack.
Police recovered a knife identical to the one Debella had bought online, and forensic analysis confirmed DNA evidence from Debella and Ms Mukhey on it.
Debella had been detained under the Mental Health Act at least three times before the incident.
Speaking outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Alex Gammampila from Scotland Yard said: “Today’s outcome offers little comfort to Anita’s family, who are left without a much-loved wife, mother, and grandmother.”
