04 December 2023 , 12:23
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A paranoid schizophrenic who randomly stabbed a man and woman in their 60s was convinced ordinary people around him were paedophiles, a court heard.
Chemical engineering student Mufaro Machaya, 24, carried out the two unprovoked attacks in Braunstone, Leicester, on Monday, December 5, last year. It followed several less serious incidents in which he had confronted strangers in the street. At about 9.10am on the day of the attacks, he approached the 61-year-old female victim while she was out for a morning walk, before stabbing her 11 times in the stomach and chest.
The stabbings followed several less serious incidents in which Machaya had confronted strangers in the street (LeicestershireLive/BPM)An off-duty police officer who was in the area heard her screams - which he described as sounding like an animal in distress - and rushed to give her help after spotting her lying in a pool of blood. While the emergency services were tending to the woman, Machaya walked up behind a 65-year-old man nearby, who was walking home at at about 9.30am after buying a paper. After tapping him on the shoulder, Machaya stabbed him in the right side of his neck.
The male victim used his arms to block himself from the the five-inch knife, which Machaya had taken from his mother's kitchen in Tay Road, Lubbesthorpe. He slashed an artery in the man's wrist, and cut his arms and the left side of his neck. Machaya then walked away and hid in a nearby underpass in Gallards Hill. Machaya was discovered in the underpass with a knife in his pocket and resisted arrest, later laughing out loud about what he had done after being taken to a police station. He told officers: "I cheffed all of them, bruv. I'll do it again."
Two expert reports submitted to the court agreed that Machaya was a paranoid schizophrenic, having "bizarre and paranoid misinterpretations of events around him" and believing his "victims were involved in paedophilic activity". The court also heard of multiple incidents involving Machaya from the same year, including banging on his neighbour's door and accusing him of being a paedophile, abusing a female dog walker and calling her a pervert, and telling a working men's club that he would "come back and shank you and shoot everyone" after being ejected. Earlier on the day of the attacks he also abused a woman out running, calling her a paedophile and telling her she was "lucky".
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He pleaded guilty in August to two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a blade. At Leicester Crown Court on Friday (December 1), Machaya was given an indefinite hospital treatment order, instead of a prison sentence, after Judge Keith Raynor heard from two psychiatrists about the reasons behind the incident last year.
Following Machaya's guilty plea, Chief Constable Rob Nixon from Leicestershire Police said: "This was a horrific attack. Machaya left his home with a knife and the intention to use it. Both victims were approached in broad daylight and without any warning were attacked violently. My thoughts are very much with the victims of this incident and I thank them for their extreme bravery, support and co-operation throughout this investigation."