A mentally ill man has pleaded guilty to bludgeoning his Wembley neighbour to death with a traditional African wood carving.
Victor Osei, 41, picked up the wall ornament depicting a woman’s head at his flat in Barnhill Road and inflicted severe head injuries to 62-year-old Anthony Higgins.
Police were called to Priestly House just after 10am on September 12, 2020 following reports a man had been assaulted.
Father-of-two Mr Higgins, a former security guard, was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Friday (September 3), Osei appeared at the Old Bailey by video link.
He denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC said the plea was accepted by the Crown in light of two expert reports on his mental state.
He said Osei had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia which impacted upon the way he behaved of the day of the killing. This saw the charge of murder dropped.
The victim’s family, who attended court, had been consulted and the matter considered carefully, Mr Glasgow added.
Judge Mark Lucraft QC adjourned sentencing to September 8.
Additional reporting by Emily Pinnick PA
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