An Afghan man has admitted killing a passer-by and assaulting two others during a series of knife attacks in west London after the prosecution accepted that he was suffering from a severe mental illness at the time. Dawood Safi, 23, admitted the manslaughter by diminished responsibility of Wayne Broadhurst on the opening day of his trial at Southwark Crown Court. Safi had originally been charged with Mr Broadhurst’s murder following the fatal stabbing/" title="Stabbing" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked">stabbing in Midhurst Gardens, Uxbridge, on 27 October last year. The court heard that Safi has also previously admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent to his landlord, Shahzad Farrukh, 45, and actual bodily harm to a 14-year-old boy. However, he continues to deny two counts of attempted murder relating to Mr Farrukh and the teenager, with that trial continuing before the court. Opening the case, prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC said the Crown would not pursue the murder charge after receiving expert psychiatric evidence. The court heard that four independent medical experts concluded Safi was experiencing “an abnormality of mental functioning” at the time of the attacks. Mr Laidlaw told the jury: “He was in a psychotic state, in other words he had lost contact with reality and he was unable to distinguish what was real and what was not.” He said the experts considered the “random, nonsensical and frenzied nature” of the attack to be consistent with Safi being acutely mentally unwell. The prosecutor also acknowledged that Mr Broadhurst’s family had wanted the defendant to face a conviction for murder. The court heard Safi was found armed with a large knife in an annex of the property where he had been living with his landlord. Mr Broadhurst, who was walking his dog and was unknown to Safi, was attacked in what prosecutors allege was a random assault. He suffered multiple stab wounds to his neck, chest and side and died at the scene. Safi has also pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon. The attempted murder trial relating to the attacks on Mr Farrukh and the 14-year-old boy is continuing. The Home Office has previously confirmed that Safi entered the UK concealed in a lorry in 2020 and was granted asylum in 2022. As criminal proceedings are ongoing, no further findings should be drawn until the conclusion of the trial.
