Man hospitalized indefinitely for "senseless" killing of Irish grandfather in London

A man convicted of the "senseless" killing of elderly Irish grandfather Thomas O'Halloran in London has been hospitalized indefinitely.

Lee Byer, 45, of no fixed address, was psychotic when he fatally stabbed the 87-year-old in the chest and neck in Greenford, West London, in August 2022. O'Halloran, who was riding his mobility scooter at the time, was originally from Ennistymon in County Clare and was a prominent figure among the Irish community in London. London's Old Bailey heard that Byer was obsessed with the fantasy series "The Hunger Games" and repeatedly wrote a Hunger Games scenario where he was required to meet "contestants" and then fight or attack them.

Five days before stabbing O'Halloran to death, Byer was released from West London prison Wormwood Scrubs having served a full 12-year sentence for robbery. Prosecutor Gareth Patterson KC told the court that Byer was technically on bail at the time of the attack. "Technically, he was on bail when he was released in August 2022, so these off enses were committed while on bail. Some months later that allegation was discontinued," Patterson told the court.

"From accounts from his mother and brother, there was odd behavior but at that stage, the full nature and degree of his mental illness had not been diagnosed."

Byer pleaded not guilty to murder and instead pleaded guilty to the lesser off ense of manslaughter by diminished responsibility and having an off ensive weapon.

The prosecution accepted Byer's plea aft er mental health reports found that he was psychotic and suff ering from both paranoid schizophrenia and paranoid delusions.

Speaking outside the Old Bailey on Friday, Detective Inspector Laura Nelson told the PA News Agency that Thomas O'Halloran's death had "a huge impact" on the local community. "His loss is felt greatly within his family," Nelson said.

"He certainly showed no signs of slowing down in his old age. He was head of the family. He looked aft er his family, cared for them.

"He enjoyed playing his accordion and he was very well known throughout the community for that.

"I think the community were just shocked. Really, really horrified."

Nelson added that she hopes the conclusion of the case will help to bring "justice" for O'Halloran's family.

She said Byer's sentence of a hospital order would help to protect the public. "Ultimately, we've got to think about public safety and rehabilitation. Lee Byer will get the treatment that he needs in order to enable him hopefully to be well, so that protects in the future."

Nelson, who led the Scotland Yard investigation into the killing, said it was fortunate that there was good CCTV coverage in the area of the attack.

"It was a very fast-paced investigation. I had a team of people specifically working on trying to track the suspect's movements from CCTV.

"We were fortunate that the area had very good coverage. We saw Byer exit the underpass still carrying a knife at this point. He had also got some gloves on." Nelson said Byer was wearing a mask but that the mask eventually fell down. He was later seen disposing of an item down a drain, which turned out to be a handle.

The handle was later recovered and found to have both Byer's and O'Halloran's DNA. Meanwhile, members of the public positively identified Byer aft er his image was circulated in the media.