The heartbroken family of an 87-year-old man stabbed to death by a career criminal say the killer should have been tried for murder.
Lee Byer attacked Tommy O’Halloran five days after he was released from prison. He was charged with murder but on Monday, the prosecution accepted the 45-year-old’s guilty plea to manslaughter as he suffered from schizophrenia.
Tommy’s daughter, Jeanne, 64, said: “We knew that he had a previous conviction for robbery but we did not know that he had just come out of prison when he killed my dad. The family would have preferred for him to have a murder trial so we could see justice being done and let normal people decide if he is guilty or not.”
Tommy was found on his mobility scooter with multiple stab wounds on August 16, 2022. Byer was seen on CCTV heading towards a passageway in Greenford, West London, at the same time as Tommy. Later, he was seen holding a bloodstained knife.
Julius Capon, head of the CPS London homicide team, said: “The CPS accepted Lee Byer’s plea to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. We reached this conclusion having carefully reviewed extensive medical evidence from experts, who agreed Byer’s actions were impaired by hallucinations caused by paranoid schizophrenia.
“Our thoughts remain with Mr O’Halloran’s family today, who have suffered a cruel and untimely loss of their loved one in dreadful circumstances.” A friend of Tommy, retired PCSO Arthur Gray, said: “Tommy was a lovely man who I knew very well. He was always playing his musical instrument. He was a lovely man and I wish I was there to save him. May he rest in peace.”
Killer Byer had 15 previous convictions for 30 offences dating back to when he was 14. In 2011, he was convicted of being the head of a notorious gang of 30 robbers who carried out raids on jewellers across London and the Home Counties. DCI Pam Mace said at the time: “He controlled a violent gang, directing them to commit robberies, and regarded himself as untouchable.”