Man stabbed 'complete strangers', jury finds

Ali Abucar Ali (left) had been coaching the night he was killed

A man stabbed two "complete strangers" in an unprovoked attack in south-west London, a jury has decided.

Norris Henry, 38, was accused of killing 20-year-old basketball coach Ali Abucar Ali and attempting to kill 82-year-old Elizabeth Walsh.

The attacks happened in Brentford in November 2021.

The court heard the defendant suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was not fit to stand trial.

He appeared at the Old Bailey hearing by video-link from a psychiatric hospital.

The jury was not asked to return verdicts of guilty or not guilty, but to rule on whether the defendant carried out the attacks.

Members of the victims' families were in court to hear the jury's findings.

Both victims were attacked in Albany Parade, Brentford

On 12 November, Henry had been seen walking along Albany Road in Brentford in an "agitated" state, his trial heard.

As Mr Henry walked past Mrs Walsh, he pulled a 25cm knife from his pocket and stabbed her in the back, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said.

"The only candidate for the causing of that injury was the man who had made contact with her on Albany Road; the man carrying a knife capable of causing such an injury," Mr Atkinson said.

Henry then approached Mr Ali, saying "you want it as well?", and stabbed him in the chest.

Norris, from Brentford, was known to have mental health issues, the court heard.

"In summary, he believed himself, genuinely but deludedly, to be the target of persons who wished him ill, and who he believed to be monitoring his activities," Mr Atkinson had told the jury.

Henry will be sentenced on 2 May.

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