A man who held a pensioner’s eye before beating him to death with his own walking stick was detained indefinitely.
Sekai Miles, 23, pleaded guilty to homicide about the death of 87-year-old Bernard Fowler in a ‘cruel’ attack outside Harold Wood Station in the east London Early on February 27 last year.
The old Bailey heard on Friday that Miles of Mr. Fowler targeted, hit him 19 times with his walking stick and stamped eight times on his head.
The 23-year-old, Van Brent Cross, Hendon, was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order after the judge heard that he needed continuous treatment at the Broadmoor Secure Psychiatric Hospital.
Prosecutor Benjamin Aina KC told the court that Mr. Fowler, a retired mechanic, went to Harold Wood Station on the day of the incident to collect free newspapers for the community.
He arrived at the station around 0.58 hours.
Bernard Fowler was beaten to death with his own walking stick outside the Harold Wood station. Photo: British Transport Police
‘Really shocking’ attack
Miles, meanwhile, traveled from Liverpool Street to the station, and when asked to leave, the staff said, “Touch me and I will kill you.”
He then tried to book a taxi to Brent Cross, but missed his taxi driver. Mr. Aina said: “The defendant approached (Mr Fowler) and the attack started around 4am.
“During the attack, the defendant looks his eyes. He falls to the floor. The defendant then attacks him while lying helplessly on the ground.
“He kicks Mr. Fowler in the head, picks up his walking stick and then starts to hit him by force. Mr. Fowler is hit 19 times.
‘The defendant then seals eight times on the head of Mr. Fowler. The attack is truly shocking and terrible. ‘
Mr. Aina said Miles initially left, but then returned and about Mr. Fowler stood in a ‘triumphant attitude’ before holding the bloody stick in one hand and his trainers in the other as he chased by police.
He was arrested after a battle. In a search for his backpack, a number of religious leaflets were revealed that declare: “Are you saved? If you died today: Heaven or hell?”
Miles denied murder, but pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr. Fowler by reducing responsibility and attacking a police officer.
Schizophrenia and ‘missed opportunities’
The prosecutor noted that an highlighted text in a Bible that referred to the eye that was lost and restored, which he “especially relevant, while the defendant chased the eye of Mr Fowler during the attack and later threatened to” pick out a police officer’s eye “while he was arrested.
The court was also told that Miles had paranoid schizophrenia and that there was evidence that he took the synthetic cannabis drug known in the past as Spice.
He stopped taking medication after declaring that he was “saved by God.”
Brenda Campbell KC, mitigation, added that Miles was ‘deeply sorry’, problems with his mental health from the age of 10, and reported hearing votes at the age of 12.
She said he was admitted to hospital after a gap of almost a decade in January 2023 after a member of the public became concerned for his well -being.
Ms Campbell said Miles’ mother raised concerns that he had “deceptions about religion”, but that he stopped smoking cannabis.
The lawyer suggested that there are ‘missed opportunities’ for medical experts to see the warning signs that Miles was bad.
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In a statement released by the British Transport Police, the family of Mr. Fowler said: “No sentence can ever bring our beloved Bernard back”.
They added: “Bernard was a friendly, loving grandfather, father and friend to everyone who was lucky enough to know him.
“He brought so much lives and joy, and his absence leaves a void that can never be filled. He will be deeply missed by all. ‘
Judge Judy Khan KC said she would later set out her reason for the sentencing, and the court said Miles would probably spend years in hospital before he was good enough to be released into the community again.
