The Old Bailey heard yesterday that the killer of a homeless man in Crystal Palace was mentally ill and had only recently been discharged by psychiatrists.
The Central Criminal Court was told how Kiiran Hibbert-Gorden befriended his eventual victim, Ion Radu, in a fried chicken shop and spent around an hour trying to find a safe place for the stranger to spend the night, before experiencing a psychotic episode and attacking him fatally.
Radu was found dead by a member of the public in a car park on Homelands Drive on June 1 2023. He was 46.
Radu was among the 11 murder victims in Croydon in 2023.
At the end of the murder trial yesterday, Hibbert-Gorden was ordered to be detained in a secure mental health hospital under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and he was given a Section 41 restriction order, which means he can only be released if approved by the Justice Secretary.
Hibbert-Gorden was described as an intelligent young man who had done well in school. He had been on anti-psychotic medication since being sectioned in August 2021. He was discharged in early 2023 by psychiatric professionals who were aware that he was no longer taking his medication.
The court heard that he was “quietly psychotic”, suffering from schizophrenia despite presenting as well.
Judge Rebecca Trowler, sentencing Hibbert-Gorden, said: “Three psychiatrists are agreed that the killing was almost entirely attributable to your schizophrenia. It would not have occurred but for your illness.”
Jane Osborne KC, for the prosecution, told the court that at around 11pm on May 31, Hibbert-Gorden left his supported living centre on Sylvan Hill and walked to Morley’s in Crystal Palace.
Tragedy: Ion Radu
Radu was seeking refuge at a table inside the shop.
After standing outside for around 20 minutes, Hibbert-Gorden entered the shop, bought four chicken wings and gave one to Radu. Osborne told the court that the pair talked, and it seemed as though Hibbert-Gorden was intent on helping Radu.
The pair walked back to Hibbert-Gorden’s support living centre together and the defendant asked staff if there was a spare room for Radu to stay in. Staff told Hibbert-Gorden that rooms were available by council referral only.
The pair then walked to the Best Western Hotel in Crystal Palace and Hibbert-Gorden went inside to speak to the receptionist.
“He was inside the hotel for less than one minute. He then left and it was within a further minute that the fatal stabbing took place,” Osborne told the court.
Having left the hotel, the pair disappeared from view of CCTV cameras into a side street, then a minute later Radu was seen running away from Hibbert-Gorden clutching his chest.
Hibbert-Gorden then went home. Radu’s body was discovered the following morning.
Hibbert-Gorden routinely carried a knife as he had been stabbed twice by the same man in recent years, the court heard.
He was charged with murder but after psychiatric tests a guilty plea to manslaughter based on diminished responsibility was accepted.
Judge Trowler, sentencing, said: “No doubt the death of Ion Radu has caused pain and sorrow to those who cared for him, including his brother who has maintained contact with police throughout proceedings.
“No sentence I pass today could make up for the loss of life.”
Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s borough with most murder victims
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Many of the high-profile murders that have taken place in recent months have been committed by people who are mentally ill. The new Government must make support for mentally ill people a major priority. My GP tells me that a child with mental health problems will wait 18 months for an appt.
Reducing crime is not just about recruiting more police but supporting people who are at risk of offending. Labour’s Sure Start programme was excellent but was destroyed by the Tories.