A young man has confessed to the killing of a stranger who was walking his dog, citing confusion between reality and fantasy as the reason behind his actions.

Dawood Safi, aged 23, also acknowledged attacking his landlord and a teenager during a period of mental instability. Initially facing charges of murder for Wayne Broadhurst’s death and attempted murder for his landlord, Shahzad Farrukh, 45, and a 14-year-old boy, Safi changed his plea to guilty for Mr. Broadhurst’s manslaughter due to diminished responsibility caused by his psychotic condition.

The violent incidents occurred in Midhurst Gardens, Uxbridge, in west London on October 27 last year. In court today, at Southwark Crown Court, Safi admitted to the manslaughter charge while previously accepting lesser charges of causing severe bodily harm with intent to Mr. Farrukh and bodily harm to the teenage boy. The prosecution agreed to drop the murder charge against Safi based on expert testimonies confirming his mental dysfunction during the attacks.

Jonathan Laidlaw KC, the prosecutor, informed the court that Safi’s mental state at the time was abnormal, leading him to lose touch with reality. He highlighted the senseless and frenzied nature of the killing as evidence of Safi’s severe mental illness.

Despite the wishes of Mr. Broadhurst’s family for a murder conviction, Safi, an immigrant from Afghanistan, resided with Mr. Farrukh as a lodger in Midhurst Gardens. Armed with a large knife, Safi encountered Mr. Broadhurst by chance while he was walking his dog and fatally stabbed him with multiple wounds to his neck, chest, and side.

Additionally, Safi pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon and will face trial for the attempted murders later. He entered the UK in 2020 by lorry and was granted asylum in 2022, as confirmed by the Home Office.