Crystal Palace killer had psychotic episode before fatal attack – Inside Croydon

The killer of a homeless man in Crystal Palace was mentally ill and had only recently been discharged by psychiatrists, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

The Central Criminal Court was told that Kiiran Hibbert-Gorden befriended his eventual victim, Ion Radu, in a fried chicken shop and spent around an hour trying to find a safe place for the stranger to spend the night before experimenting a psychotic episode and attack. he fatal.

Radu was found dead by a member of the public in a car park on Homelands Drive on 1 June 2023. He was 46 years old.

Radu was among the 11 victims of the 2023 Croydon murder.

At the end of the murder trial yesterday, Hibbert-Gorden was ordered to be detained in a secure mental health hospital under section 37 of the Mental Health Act and given a restraining order under section 41, meaning he can only be released if approved. by the Secretary of Justice.

Hibbert-Gorden was described as an intelligent young man who had done well at school. He has been on antipsychotic medication since he was sectioned in August 2021. He was discharged in early 2023 by psychiatric professionals who knew he was off his medication.

The court heard he was “quietly psychotic”, suffering from schizophrenia despite also presenting.

Sentencing Hibbert-Gorden, Judge Rebecca Trowler said: “Three psychiatrists agree that the killing was almost entirely attributable to your schizophrenia. It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for your illness.”

Jane Osborne KC, prosecuting, told the court that at around 11pm on May 31, Hibbert-Gorden left her supported living center on Sylvan Hill and went to Morley’s in Crystal Palace.

Tragedy: Ion Radu

Radu sought refuge at a table inside the shop.

After standing outside for about 20 minutes, Hibbert-Gorden went into the store, bought four chicken wings and gave one to Radu. Osborne told the court the two spoke and it appeared Hibbert-Gorden intended to help Radu.

The two returned to Hibbert-Gorden’s supportive housing facility together, and defendant asked the staff if there was a spare room for Radu to stay in. Staff told Hibbert-Gorden that the rooms were only available by contacting the council.

The pair then went to the Best Western Hotel in Crystal Palace and Hibbert-Gorden went in to speak to the receptionist.

“He was in the hotel for less than a minute. He then left and within a minute the fatal stabbing took place,” Osborne told the court.

After leaving the hotel, the pair disappeared from CCTV down a side street, then a minute later Radu was seen running away from Hibbert-Gorden clutching his chest.

Hibbert-Gorden then went home. Radu’s body was discovered the next morning.

Hibbert-Gorden usually carried a knife as he had been stabbed twice by the same man in recent years, the court heard.

He was charged with murder, but following psychiatric tests a guilty plea to manslaughter was accepted on the basis of diminished responsibility.

Judge Trowler, passing sentence, said: “There is no doubt that Ion Radu’s death has caused pain and sadness to those who cared for him, including his brother who maintained contact with the police throughout the proceedings.

“No sentence I am promising today could make up for the loss of life.”

Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s most crime-ridden borough

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