Uber driver given hospital order for killing street cleaner

An Uber driver has been given an indefinite hospital order for killing a council street cleaner and wounding his landlord in a knife rampage. Dawood Safi, 28, fatally stabbed Wayne Broadhurst, 49, in Uxbridge on October 27 last year. Mr Broadhurst was a street cleaner for Ealing Council. Safi also attacked his landlord, Shahzad Farrukh, before killing Mr Broadhurst.

At Southwark Crown Court on Monday, Safi pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility. He was convicted of attempting to murder Mr Farrukh and pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm against a teenage boy, who was also stabbed during the incident. Safi also admitted possession of the knife.

Mental health and asylum claim

The court heard that Safi, who was suffering from paranoid delusions and hearing voices, was smuggled into the UK in November 2020. He lied about his age, claiming to be 17 instead of 22, to improve his chances of being granted asylum. He was granted leave to remain in the UK until 2027. Safi had sought medical help for his deteriorating mental health in the days before the attacks.

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC told the court that Safi had a "collapse" in his mental health. He described Mr Broadhurst as having the "terrible misfortune" to walk past Safi's home with his dog. Safi subjected Mr Broadhurst to a "sustained, ferocious and unsurvivable knife attack" stabbing him at least 14 times. Mr Broadhurst died almost instantly.

Landlord and boy attacked

Safi first attacked his landlord, Mr Farrukh, in the kitchen of his home. Mr Farrukh reported seeing Safi's silhouette through a glass door holding a large kitchen knife. Safi lunged at his landlord, shouting "you've ruined my life" and accusing him of not helping with a police complaint. Mr Farrukh suffered stab wounds to his neck and chest, including a punctured lung, but survived after neighbours intervened.

During the struggle with Mr Farrukh, a teenage boy intervened and was also stabbed. Safi was disarmed with the help of the boy. Neighbours described Safi as looking "possessed" and "dead between the eyes" as he re-armed himself and emerged back onto the street.

Sentencing and deportation recommendation

Mrs Justice Cutts ordered Safi to be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital for mental health treatment, stating he was "in a psychotic state" at the time of the stabbings. The judge acknowledged the "devastating" impact on Mr Broadhurst's family, describing him as "a hard-working and decent man who was deeply loved."

The judge also recommended that Safi be deported, stating his "continued presence in the UK is to its detriment." The final decision on deportation rests with the Home Secretary. Mr Broadhurst's partner told the court her "future was stolen from me" and that the family found it difficult to accept the manslaughter conviction over murder.

What happens next

Safi will remain in a secure hospital for treatment. The Home Secretary will decide whether to deport him from the UK.