'Dangerous' man who attacked three Tube passengers in 35-minute spree of unprovoked violence locked up indefinitely

17 September 2024, 19:27

A "dangerous" man who attacked three Tube passengers in a 35-minute spree of unprovoked violence has been locked up indefinitely.

Donovan Kenlyn, 39, was found to have been insane when he punched and pushed three men at three different London Underground stations on October 27 2022.

The court was told that Kenlyn, who has schizophrenia, had a string of previous convictions, including a "substantial number" for violence offences.

On Tuesday, Judge Philip Katz KC handed him a hospital order without limit of time but said, if it had not been for his mental illness, he would have faced a "substantial" jail term.

The judge said: "On October 27 2022, three members of the public were going about their business on the London transport system.

"Within a short space of time they were each the victim of an unprovoked attack by you. Each victim was a complete stranger to you."

Kenlyn had set off from Hanger Lane and travelled to Baker Street station where he launched a "vicious" attack on Samer Jawad, a visitor to the UK, at about 11.30am.

Judge Katz told the defendant: "In your fury, you punched him numerous times to the face. He tried to escape your violence but you caught up with him and struck him again from behind, causing him to fall down."

Mr Jawad suffered injuries to the side of his head, mouth and face and was helped by members of Tube staff and other passengers as Kenlyn left the scene.

From Baker Street station, he travelled to Finchley Road where, minutes later, he attacked Angel Cambeiro.

Judge Katz said: "As you walked past Angel Cambeiro on the platform, you suddenly reached out and pushed him on to the tracks. He ended up near the live rails and could easily have been killed.

"Members of the public and staff came to his rescue while you left that scene. People had noticed you acting aggressively and shouting obscenities."

Mr Cambeiro was taken to hospital with a broken arm and dislocated elbow which required surgery.

The court was told the victim had been left feeling uncomfortable and challenged around a lot of people and was forced to take early retirement as a result of the violence. Kenlyn travelled on to nearby West Hampstead station where he followed Peter Acton and struck him on the back of the head just after 12pm.

Judge Katz said: "He had noticed you on the platform and had tried to avoid you as you made him feel uneasy and he thought he might have encountered you before. You struck him on the back of his head and he fell over the seat dividers."

Mr Acton, who suffered fractured ribs, said in a victim impact statement that he had been left feeling anxious and fearful of using the Tube.

Following the third attack, Kenlyn returned to Hanger Lane where he was arrested a few days later.

Kenlyn, of Ealing, west London, had accepted that he was involved in the attacks, but denied a string of charges because he was suffering with "active" schizophrenia that caused him to falsely believe he was under threat.

Jurors at the Old Bailey were asked to consider whether he was too unwell to know if his behaviour was wrong, and whether he intended to injure Mr Cambeiro.

At the time of the incident, Kenlyn was a single male, living alone, and not receiving any treatment for his mental health condition.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Bradley Hillier had told jurors: "It does appear for various reasons - not entirely surprising in my opinion - that Mr Kenlyn had not been under the care of mental health services."

He had likely been ill for "many years" because schizophrenia usually sets in in the late teens or early 20s, Dr Hillier added.

The clinician said he met Kenlyn at least four times in the 18 months before the trial and described his illness as "severe, enduring, relapsing and remitting".

He suffered persecutory delusions, auditory hallucinations, a thought disorder that made him "at times incomprehensible", and "threat/control-override" symptoms due to psychosis.

Kenlyn was found not guilty by reason of insanity of causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Cambeiro, assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Mr Acton and of assault by beating against Mr Jawad.

He was cleared of the more serious offences of attempted murder against Mr Cambeiro and of causing him grievous bodily harm with intent.

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Katz said: "The jury was not sure either that you intended to kill Mr Cambeiro or that you intended to inflict the really serious harm you did inflict.

"However, on all the evidence, I am sure that when your schizophrenia is active, you present a very high danger to the public. You could easily have killed Mr Cambeiro and, to a sane person, the risk of killing him would have been obvious."