Why was knife maniac on our streets to kill?
Days before he slashed lecturer to death, charges were dropped against this mentally ill man for carrying two knives and assaulting a PC
A KNIFEMAN stabbed a lecturer to death days after prosecutors dropped weapons charges against him.
Femi Nandap, 23, launched a frenzied attack on Dr Jeroen Ensink on his doorstep as he left home to deliver cards announcing the arrival of his first child.
Mentally ill Nandap, who comes from a wealthy Nigerian family, yesterday admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Now it can be revealed for the first time that a court case against him was abandoned six days before the stabbing.
Nandap, whose behaviour was becoming increasingly erratic, had been caught roaming a North London street with two kitchen knives. He was charged with possessing a knife, assaulting a police officer and skipping bail after he fled to his homeland.
But the entire case was dropped after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) blamed ‘insufficient evidence’ and insisted the decision made no difference to whether Nandap was on the streets.
Dr Ensink’s grieving widow Nadja is now demanding to know whether more could have been done to avert the tragedy.
Julian Hendy, who runs Hundredfamilies, which supports relatives of those killed by people with mental health problems, said Mrs Ensink wants to know whether chances to spot the danger posed by Nandap were missed.
‘Jeroen was a force for good in the world and was struck down just after the birth of a much cherished and loved baby girl,’ he said.
‘This is another deeply distressing case of an innocent man and young family destroyed by the violent actions of a seriously mentallyill offender.
‘These cases are happening now far too often and we await with interest the results of the psychiatric investigations to see if there were opportunities that could have prevented this terrible tragedy.’
Dr Ensink, 41, who was originally from the Netherlands, lectured in public health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
He was confronted by Nandap as he left his home in Islington, North London on the afternoon of December 29 last year.
Witnesses described the couple grappling with each other before Dr Ensink collapsed. He died of his injuries at the scene.
His wife, who was inside the house with their newborn daughter Fleur, only realised tragedy had struck when she opened her front door to find the pavement covered in blood. It is believed that Nandap’s sister, a high-flying lawyer at an international firm, lived further down the street in a rented flat. Nandap denied murder but admitted manslaughter at the Old Bailey via video link from Broadmoor.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC agreed to drop the murder charge, saying: ‘The psychiatric opinion is clear, cogent and unanimous.’ A series of odd online postings suggest Nandap had been battling mental illness for months as he ranted about ‘mind control’, aliens and reptiles.
In one Facebook message on December 23, he referred to the ‘illuminati’ and ‘reptilian masters’ who are trying to control the earth. He also uploaded a cartoon of Santa being burned at the stake.
Elsewhere on the internet are several rambling videos and a pseudo-academic paper on the Hebrew Bible which ends with a quote from Adolf Hitler.
At an earlier hearing, a judge reacted with surprise when the court heard how charges against Nandap had been dropped. Judge Charles Wide, who has since retired, said: ‘I could see there may be some public concern about that.’
Court records show Nandap appeared at Highbury Corner mag- istrates’ court on October 12 accused of possession of a knife and assaulting a police officer. He was further accused of a bail offence after flying to Nigeria and returning in October instead of August as agreed.
A CPS spokesman said: ‘Even if the case had proceeded, the bail conditions he was subject to until his scheduled trial would not have prevented him being at the location of the incident on December 29.’
Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Piscopo, of Scotland Yard, said after the case: ‘What should have been the happiest time of Jeroen’s life was ended by the violent and unprovoked actions of Nandap.’
‘Another young family destroyed’