Ex-student given hospital order after betting shop killing

A former medical student who beheaded his friend in a betting shop has been given a hospital order after being cleared of murder on the grounds of insanity.

Hassan Mustafa used a knife to decapitate Khalid Yousef and then mutilated the victim’s face and one of his hands, Birmingham Crown Court was told.

Mustafa, who was 35 at the time of the killing, attacked his former housemate at a branch of Paddy Power in Handsworth in January.

Jurors at a four-day trial were invited to return a “special verdict” of not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, if they believed Mustafa did not know what he was doing was wrong.

The court was told Mustafa, who is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, “believed he was killing a supernatural being rather than a human being” as part of a competition.

Opening the case against Mustafa on Monday, prosecutor Jonathan Rees QC said the defendant and Mr Yousef were Sudanese nationals who sought asylum in the UK five years ago, initially living in Liverpool.

Mr Rees told the court that 28-year-old Mr Yousef’s wounds suggested the mutilation had been “carried out with some skill” – possibly reflecting the training the defendant received studying for medical qualifications.

The barrister also reassured jurors that if they found the defendant not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, Mustafa would not be released until he was no longer considered a danger.

Commenting after the case, Detective Inspector Jim Colclough, of West Midlands Police, said: “This was a horrific and unprovoked attack on a young man who had his whole life ahead of him.

“I would like to thank the staff at Paddy Power for their brave actions, I can’t imagine how terrified they were. Our thoughts also remain with Khalid’s family at this difficult time.”

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