A prolific criminal who stabbed an 87-year-old grandfather busking on his mobility scooter days after he was let out of prison has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.
Lee Byer, 45, knifed Thomas O’Halloran in the chest and neck in a ‘shocking attack’ in Greenford, west London, in August 2022.
Former maintenance man Mr O’Halloran, originally from Co Clare in Ireland, managed to travel a short distance seeking help for his wounds before he bled to death at the side of the road.
His grandson Dennis Lintern, who lived with his mum and Mr O’Halloran, said is a statement: ‘Grandad was a gentle, loving man who spent his whole life working and helping everyone he could.
‘He was taken in a horrendous act of cowardice by the defendant who has not only taken my grandfather’s life but devastated and took something from everyone who knew him.’
Byer admitted manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility as he was suffering from schizophrenia when he killed Mr O’Halloran.
He was sentenced at the Old Bailey today by Judge Mark Lucraft, KC, the Recorder of London.
Mr O’Halloran was well known in the local community.
He raised money for charities by playing music, including raising money for Ukraine months before the killing.
His brother said: ‘He loved to play music. He did not drink or smoke but he could sit in a bar all night long with a bottle of Coke and listen to the band play.’
Mr O’Halloran and Byer were caught on CCTV heading towards the passageway where their paths crossed.
The footage showed that, apart from Byer, no one else went into or out of the area when the victim was attacked.
When he left the passageway, a knife could be seen in Byer’s hand.
He was caught on camera depositing a knife handle in a drain in Haymill Close on the way back to his mother’s house.
Forensic analysis found the victim’s blood on the handle, although the blade was never found.
After being arrested at his mother’s house on August 18, Byer told police: ‘Murder, I was in prison at the time.’
Clothes matching those seen on CCTV were found in a search of the property as well as a knife set with handles similar to the one found in the drain.
Detective Chief Inspector Laura Nelson who led the investigation said Mr O’Halloran’s death was ‘senseless’.
‘Detectives have conducted a meticulous investigation in order to establish the facts of Thomas’s death,’ she said.
‘Byer’s movements were tracked from his release from prison up to the day of the attack, enabling us to present evidence that could not be disputed. We have worked closely with the forensic command and their examinations have intrinsically linked Byer to the attack.’
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