Killer who stabbed eight at random in knife rampage sentenced to life
A man who stabbed people at random, killing one and seriously injuring seven others, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.
Zephaniah McLeod carried out the series of attacks in the early hours of 6 September last year, as people were enjoying a night out in Birmingham City Centre.
CCTV and dashcam footage captured him walking calmly through the streets, stabbing people, then moving on.
McLeod pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, as well as four charges of attempted murder and three charges of wounding with intent.
He was sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court.
McLeod carried out the series of attacks in the early hours of 6 September 2020
After the first three stabbings, he disposed of his knife down a drain, took a taxi to his home in Selly Oak, four miles away, where he re-armed himself and headed back to the city centre.
It was then that he came across Jacob Billington, 23, from Liverpool, and his friend Michael Callaghan.
They were part of a group of seven friends returning to their hotel after a night out.
McLeod asked the group if they had a lighter before attacking Mr Billington and Mr Callaghan.
Mr Billington was stabbed through the neck. He was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead at 2.57am.
Jacob Billington was killed in the attack
His mother, Jo, had last seen her son as he left to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
“I can still see him leaving the house with the lads in the car outside beeping the horns getting him to hurry up, and he skipped out, and we just thought he was going for a lovely night out with his friends,” she recalled.
She was woken in the early hours by police knocking on the door to tell her that her son had been killed.
“It was absolutely awful. You feel like you had all the breath sucked out of you is the best way to describe it,” she said.
She then had to wake his sisters to tell them.
Abbie and Jo Billington describe the night Jacob was killed
Abbie Billington, 22, remembered the moment she found out her brother was dead.
“There are just no words to describe the sadness that I felt,” she said.
Mr Callaghan had suffered catastrophic injures.
McLeod’s knife had severed his jugular vein and carotid artery. He lost so much blood he had a stroke.
Michael Callaghan pictured before the attack
His mother, Anne Callaghan, was woken by a call from the hospital.
“We were called in the morning about 5.30am by a nurse to say that he was in theatre, and he was stable, and obviously that was terrible to hear.
“We didn’t know what she was talking about, and I said, ‘what’s happened?’ She said, ‘he’s been stabbed’. I couldn’t grasp it at all.”
They travelled to Birmingham and were told that if he survived, he would have life-changing injuries.
It was 10 days before they were confident he would make it.
Michael suffered catastrophic injures in the attack
Before the stabbing, Mr Callaghan and Mr Billington were in a band. They both loved music, and the former enjoyed sport too. But over the last 14 months, he has had to relearn to walk and still can’t use his left hand.
His mother said life is difficult for her son, who is mourning the loss of his best friend.
“Michael is just devastated at the loss of Jacob,” she said. “They were totally on the same wavelength, and you know he misses him every day.”
The court heard McLeod had been suffering with paranoid schizophrenia since 2012 and these were not his first offences.
He had previous convictions for robbery, escaping from lawful custody, possession of a firearm in a public place and possession of class A drugs.
He had spoken to a psychiatrist on the phone on 3 September, days before the attack.
McLeod puts one knife down a drain. Pic: West Midlands Police
“On release from prison in April 2020, we were unable to make contact with him as we were not informed of his whereabouts. I spoke to Zephaniah briefly on the phone whilst he was with his Care Coordinator…” Dr Ezzine Onuba, the psychiatrist, wrote in a statement to the court.
“Zephaniah continues to hear voices which he told me is there all the time and can be distressing.
“It was difficult to do a full assessment. He was due to be seen face to face on 24 September 2020.”
Superintendent Jim Munro from West Midlands Police told Sky News: “He wasn’t under any license conditions and actively being managed, so he’d come back out having served his sentence.”
Mrs Callaghan believes he should never be released.
“All I want is for him to be off the streets because I don’t think he can be ever trusted again,” she said.
“He’s not answered any questions, he’s not talked about it, we don’t know anything about why he did what he did. How can anybody say he’s safe again? I don’t think anybody can.”
McLeod arrested by armed officers. Pic: West Midlands Police
Mr Billington’s mother says she believes mistakes have been made by the authorities and hopes a serious case review under way looking into the agencies that were aware of McLeod will provide answers.
“For me, there’s quite a lot of unanswered questions about what happened on that night,” she said. “And what led up to that night in terms of… this was somebody well known to lots of different agencies in many different sectors, and yet still it appears that he was in a position where he did this.
“The fact that he didn’t appear to have been monitored in the way that you would imagine he would.
“As somebody who was known to be dangerous and had a long previous history of being dangerous, had a known mental health condition, none of which seems to have been taken into account at all in terms of how he was monitored.”
Temperatures could hit highs of 26C this weekend, with Saturday in with a chance to be the hottest day of the year so far.
Forecasters say temperatures will build over the coming days before coming to a head over the weekend, with mostly clear conditions expected across England and Wales.
By Saturday, the Met Office indicates the south of England could see highs of up to 26C. So far, the hottest temperature recorded this year was in Santon Downham in Suffolk, which saw 23.4C last Thursday.
The forecaster said high pressure will push north throughout the week and bring more warmer and drier conditions after the bank holiday weekend washout.
Met Office meteorologist Amy Bokota said: “High pressure is forecast to dominate the UK for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
“High pressure brings dry and settled weather and with warm air sat over the UK this will give some pleasant warm temperatures. There is good confidence that high pressure will last until the weekend.
“Temperatures are expecting to build over the next few days, with a likely peak of Saturday.”
See the latest weather forecast where you are
Scotland and Northern Ireland are also set to enjoy warmer springtime weather, with 22C also forecast on Saturday in Glasgow.
Northern parts of the UK will still see cloudy skies, and patches of moving high pressure are “likely to cause periods of prolonged rainfall” in parts of Northern Ireland and the north of Scotland, Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge said.
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The sunnier skies aren’t set to last long, however. In their long range outlook to 21 May, the Met Office said that Sunday will “likely be the last widely dry and fine day for a while, with warm sunshine for most”.
It added: “After Sunday, the weather is expected to switch back to become changeable across the country, with further spells of rain and showers expected.
“Rainfall amounts could be above average in most areas. It is also possible that rain will be heavy at times, and any showers could turn thundery. Temperatures are also expected to fall closer to average for May.”
The King is too busy to see Prince Harry during his visit to the UK, the duke’s spokesperson has said.
Harry is in London for an event celebrating 10 years of the Invictus Games.
It marks the first time the royal has been in the country since his rushed visit to see the King in February after the monarch’s cancer diagnosis.
There had been press speculation that the pair would meet up again on his latest trip, but a spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex has said the King is too busy to see his son.
“In response to the many inquiries and continued speculation on whether or not the duke will meet with his father while in
the UK this week, it unfortunately will not be possible due to His Majesty’s full programme,” the spokesperson said.
“The duke of course is understanding of his father’s diary of commitments and various other priorities and hopes to see him soon.”
Prince Harry speaks at the event near the City of London. Pic: Getty Images for The Invictus Games Foundation
The King returned to public duties last week for the first time since his diagnosis for an unspecified form of cancer.
Buckingham Palace has said his diary will be carefully managed to minimise any risks to his health.
The palace has also said it would not comment on matters relating to Harry.
The monarch held an audience with the prime minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, at Buckingham Palace today as Harry was seen in the UK.
Pic: Getty Images for The Invictus Games Foundation
A Sky News camera captured Prince Harry arriving at an Invictus event in central London
Earlier, a Sky News camera captured Prince Harry arriving at the Honourable Artillery Company’s headquarters on the edge of the City of London for a one-day summit, called the Invictus Games Foundation Conversation.
The event is looking back over the decade-long history of the games which Harry founded in 2014 as a Paralympics-style sporting event for injured and sick military personnel and veterans.
It is taking place ahead of a ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the games.
The ceremony will be the first major event Harry has attended in Britain for some time.
King Charles during an audience with the prime minister of Fiji, Sitiveni Rabuka, at Buckingham Palace today. Pic: PA
Harry hails legacy that ‘transcends sports’
Speaking in a foreword at the summit taking place today ahead of the St Paul’s service, Harry said: “It has been an honour to watch the Invictus Games Foundation grow over the years; what began as a vision to pay tribute to the courage and resilience of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans, has flourished into an international organisation built on hope, strength, and unity.”
The duke also wrote: “We are eager to celebrate the Invictus Spirit once again – exemplified in every single competitor, staff, friend and family member – your commitment, enthusiasm and belief, have been the driving force behind our continued success.”
He added: “Together, we have created a legacy that transcends sports; a community that embraces compassion, respect, and the unyielding belief in the power of the human spirit. As we celebrate this milestone, let us recommit to the Invictus mission.”
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It is not known if any other members of the Royal Family will be in attendance at the ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral on Wednesday.
British actor Damian Lewis is set to recite the Invictus poem during the service.
Representatives from across the Invictus Games participating nations, including members of the wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veteran community, will also be in attendance.
Following his visit to Britain, Harry will be joined by his wife Meghan for a trip to Nigeria.
The Duke of Sussex served in the UK military himself for 10 years from 2005 and was deployed to Afghanistan on two occasions.
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From February: Prince Harry and Meghan visit training camp
Harry was inspired to found the Invictus Games after attending the Warrior Games in Colorado in 2013 and seeing how injured American military personnel thrived on the challenge of taking part in competitive sports that aided their recovery.
He went on to stage the inaugural games in London’s Olympic Park in 2014, followed by Orlando in 2016, Toronto in 2017 and Sydney 2018.
Harry has been living with Meghan in California since they quit their roles as senior working royals in March 2020.
The couple have two children together – Archie and Lilibet.
Harry has only visited the UK a few times since his decision to move to the US.
His latest trip comes after reports of a rift between himself and his brother William, the heir to the throne.
In a tell-all book published in January last year, Harry made several explosive claims about the royals – detailing fallouts with his family, including William.
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