Birmingham stabbings: Mum 'haunted' by Jacob Billington's death

Zephaniah McLeod is being sentenced after he admitted a charge of manslaughter and four counts of attempted murder

The mother of a man fatally knifed during a stabbing rampage said she was "haunted" by his death.

Jacob Billington, 23, died and seven others were hurt in five separate incidents carried out in 90 minutes across Birmingham on 6 September 2020.

Zephaniah McLeod, 28, previously admitted Mr Billington's manslaughter and is being sentenced for his crimes.

Joanne Billington told the hearing at Birmingham Crown Court she was "tortured" by the attacks.

"I am haunted about how he died, how terrified he must have been," she said in a victim impact statement. "This tortures me every time I close my eyes."

Jacob Billington worked as a library intern at Sheffield Hallam University

The court heard McLeod, who had paranoid schizophrenia, had refused a psychiatric appointment in the days before his fatal spree.

"He was last spoken to on the phone by a mental health nurse on September 3, 2020," said prosecutor Karim Khalil QC.

"This was just four days before his arrest for these offences."

Prior to that, McLeod had been out of contact with health services after being released from prison that April, despite a history of refusing to take his medication and hearing voices telling him to kill and stab people.

Mrs Billington told the court she hoped McLeod's care would be "properly looked into and that all involved remember my son bled to death in the street at the hands of someone well-known to many agencies".

The attacks happened at four locations across Birmingham city centre

The court heard how McLeod had armed himself with a knife on the night of the attack, getting a taxi home to pick up another, before returning to the city centre, part-way through his spree.

He had "aimed at parts of the body, namely the head, neck and chest where the most severe injuries would be likely to be caused," said Mr Khalil.

"We suggest the fact some victims sustained physical injuries that weren't as serious was purely by chance, rather than by design," he added.

McLeod, of Nately Grove, Selly Oak, Birmingham, also previously admitted four counts of attempted murder and three of wounding.

Mr Billington, from Crosby, Merseyside, was stabbed in Irving Street after McLeod returned to the city centre in the early hours of 6 September.

He had been enjoying a night out with friends and his father, Keith, said the group "were just going back to their hotel" when they came "face-to-face with evil".

He said McLeod "has no place in society - he is clearly one of the most dangerous people to have walked the streets of this city".

One of Mr Billington's friends, Michael Callaghan, 24, was also attacked and left partially paralysed after suffering a single stab wound to the neck.

McLeod was described as carrying out the attacks "calmly"

He told the court he regretted being unable to save the life of Mr Billington.

"My friend saved my life. What's to say I wouldn't have been able to do the same?"

He added: "Ever since McLeod murdered my friend, and stuck a knife in my neck, I often wish he had succeeded in killing me and still sometimes do."

The court heard how he had suffered a "massive" stroke following the attack and was put into an induced coma.

However, he added that despite losing the use of his left arm, and some vision, he had learned to walk again and was "proud" of his progress.

Reading her own impact statement, Mr Callaghan's mother Anne described seeing a "sadness" in her son "that wasn't there before."

The sentencing hearing continues.