Jacob Billington: Family will never recover from man's 'monstrous' death - inquest

Jacob Billington worked as a library intern at Sheffield Hallam University

The mother of a university librarian who was stabbed on a night out has told an inquest his family will "never recover" from his loss.

Jacob Billington, 23, was killed when mentally ill Zephaniah McLeod went on a stabbing spree in Birmingham on 6 September 2020.

Joanne Billington paid tribute to her "genuinely lovely" son at the opening of his inquest in the city.

She said: "He didn't deserve to die in the horrific, monstrous way he did."

Mr Billington, a talented musician from Crosby, on Merseyside, was only in Birmingham for one night out with friends, she said.

McLeod, who was 27 at the time of the attacks, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 21 years after admitting the manslaughter of Mr Billington and four counts of attempted murder and three charges of wounding in relation to seven others injured.

The killer, from Selly Oak, had previous convictions including for assault and possession of an imitation firearm. He had been released from HMP Parc, south Wales, five months earlier.

He had been known to mental health services since being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2012, but did not regularly engage with them.

Zephaniah McLeod had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the apparently random attacks

The two-week hearing at Birmingham and Solihull Coroner's Court is expected to look at McLeod's offending history, time in prison and mental health treatment.

It will also examine information including his use of medication and how his prison release was managed.

At the start of the inquest in front of senior coroner Louise Hunt, photographs of Mr Billington with his childhood friend Michael Callaghan, who was seriously injured during the attacks, were shared.

'Grabbed life'

Ms Billington said her son, a Sheffield Hallam University graduate and librarian, "loved a night out" and was remembered by his friends for his love of music, festivals and weekends away.

"For us, Jacob's death is something we will never recover from and has changed the lives of everyone who knew him," she said.

"For his family, friends and colleagues he was a real person with a fantastic personality, loves, hopes and dreams.

"He wanted to be alive, he grabbed life with both hands and he was at a great point in his life."

Jacob Billington, pictured with sister Abbie, was fatally stabbed by Zephaniah McLeod in 2020

Ms Billington said he remained "much loved and much missed".

"This incident has scarred so many lives, his friends who were there when he was attacked were heroes," she said.

"He was a genuinely lovely, funny, intelligent young man and I was very proud to be his mum."

She said the family have had "to endure criminal proceedings, a multi-agency review and now an inquest" and called for a "full and frank investigation".

"He deserved to be safe walking down the street," she said.

"All agencies involved need to remember him and the manner of his death throughout this process."

The inquest continues.