Man detained for stabbing grandmother to death at North London bus stop
Jala Dabella stabbed 66-year-old Anita Mukhey in May 2024.
A man who killed stabbed a grandmother to death at a North London bus stop has been detained under the mental health act.
24-year-old Jala Debella attacked 66-year-old Anita Mukhey in Edgeware on the 9th of May 2024.
Anita died at the scene.
Debella was deemed to unwell to stand a murder trial. Instead, a jury found he had committed the act of killing Anita.
The court heard how he was 'obsessed' with gory videos, and videos of extreme violence.
Anita's family have raised concerns over how Debella was able to purchase the hunting knife used in the killing, despite a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia and him, at the time, living in a residential home supporting people with mental health problems.
The court heard how the hunting knife had been delivered to Debella around an hour before the deadly attack.
Hard to accept
In a statement, Anita Mukhey's family said "As this case has unfolded, certain deeply troubling facts have emerged.
"The court has heard that a man with a severe mental illness was known to services and assessed by consultant psychiatrists as psychologically stable and safe for the community.
"At the same time, he was engaging in escalating behaviour outside those assessments, including acquiring weapons and researching extreme violence - behaviour that ultimately mirrored the violence he later carried out.
"That disconnect is hard to accept. It raises serious questions about how risk is assessed, and about whether current models are equipped to detect danger that develops beyond the spoken words of the consulting room.
"The court has also heard that, while living in a staffed, CQC (Care Quality Commission)-registered mental health rehabilitation home, he was able to purchase weapons online, which were received within that setting and passed on to him.
"Whether that is right, lawful or safe is not something this trial has examined - but it is something that must now be properly scrutinised.
"We recognise that these questions fall outside the scope of today's proceedings. We want to be clear that our family stands ready to assist the coroner in any future inquest, in the interests of learning lessons and strengthening public protection.
"There is so much good in this country, and it is precisely because of that good that we must do better."