Widow’s fury at oficials who let crazed can- nabis addict free to kill
New father knifed to death SIX days after assault case dropped
THE widow of an academic stabbed to death by a cannabis-addicted student in the grip of mental illness has attacked the blunders which left the killer on the streets.
Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, died in a pool of blood outside his home after being attacked on his way to post cards announcing the birth of his baby daughter.
His widow Nadja Ensink-Teich yesterday brought their nine-month-old, Fleur, to court to see her father’s killer sent to Broadmoor Hospital indefinitely. Femi Nandap, who was suffering from a severe psychotic illness linked to his cannabis addiction, had smiled as he repeatedly stabbed Dr Ensink on December 29 last year.
After being Tasered by police, barefoot Nandap, 23, said: ‘I am the black Messiah,’ adding: ‘That’s the white guy’s blood’ as he indicated his hands and feet.
Just six days earlier he had walked free from court after magistrates dropped charges of knife possession and assaulting a police officer.
Police had previously been warned by his family that he was suffering ‘depression and psychosis’ and was not fit to answer bail.
Mrs Ensink-Teich, 37, yesterday called for a change in the law to force the authorities to protect the public.
She said: ‘Not only was the love of
‘Wandering about with a knife’
my life taken from me, but with him also all of our hopes and dreams.’
In a tearful appeal, she questioned why people continue to be murdered by the mentally ill ‘again and again’.
And she called for an independent inquiry and ‘concerted action’ to prevent a repeat of the atrocity.
‘If a person with a history of mental health problems is found wandering about with a knife and attacks a police officer, that person must be detained in a secure unit for proper assessment and treatment and not given bail so easily,’ she told a judge.
‘I hope following Jeroen’s death an independent investigation will take place and answers will be provided to these simple but pressing questions.
‘This represents a failure of the health and judicial system that should protect the public and care for those with severe mental illness.’
Nandap stabbed Dr Ensink outside his home in Islington, north London, only stopping when confronted by an off-duty special constable.
Witnesses described how the academic shouted ‘no, not a knife’ and tried to hold up his hands to defend himself as the Nigerian launched the relentless attack. Mrs Ensink-Teich went outside to find the cards to relatives announcing Fleur’s birth 11 days earlier strewn across the blood- spattered pavement.
The Old Bailey heard Nandap developed mental health problems after he began smoking a large amount of cannabis while studying in Boston in the United States in 2012.
Psychiatrists later found his drug use triggered an ‘enduring psychotic illness’ which left him suffering violent delusions. Less than a week before the attack, Nandap’s charges of knife possession and assaulting a police officer were dropped by magistrates. These were related to an
incident in May last year when he was seen with a 12-inch kitchen knife and punched and bit a police officer who tried to arrest him.
In an interview with a psychiatrist at the time, he said: ‘I was getting more and more people talking to me via telepathy. The word Messiah was introduced so I thought I was the Messiah and that was the reason for the experiences. I did not know what it meant but I was excited about what was happening and it gave my life meaning.’
Despite his violent and threatening behaviour, and evidence of his mental illness, he was bailed and allowed to travel to Nigeria. He then failed to answer bail in August as his sister handed a medical note to police saying he was suffering ‘depression and psychosis’ and could not fly back to Britain.
By the time he did return he had stopped taking anti-psychotic drugs and was suffering extreme delusions. Nandap finally appeared in court in October, but was again released by magistrates, despite objections by the prosecution.
In the end he was never prosecuted for the attack on the policeman or for skipping bail. Nandap was a member of a wealthy family who attended an international school in Egham, Surrey. He had been enrolled on an African studies and accounting course at SOAS, University of London, and was legally in the UK, having been granted a three-year student visa in September 2014, the court heard.
His sister, a lawyer, wrote a letter to the court saying his family did not realise how seriously ill he was and that they apologised for his actions.
Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC said there was a ‘dreadful irony’ because Dr Ensink – who was leading a project to improve health in Africa – was killed by a stranger despite dedicating his life to those he had never met. He said: ‘His death is a loss to a large proportion of the world’s poor.’ The judge added: ‘I express hope that those in a position to do so will investigate all aspects of this case and the appropriate lessons will be learned.’
Dutch-born Dr Ensink, who also spoke English, French and German, was a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
His specialised work in third-world sanitation took him from across the globe from Ethiopia to Vietnam.
A review by the Crown Prosecution Service found the decision to dis- continue the previous case against Nandap was wrong. A spokesman said it was dropped because of conflicting accounts from witnesses.
Julian Hendy of the charity Hundred Families, which helps relatives of those killed by the mentally ill, said similar tragedies take place more than 100 times a year.
He said he thought ‘political correctness’ was stopping professionals confronting the danger posed by some patients, adding: ‘I sometimes wonder whether they want to prevent a stigma for the mentally ill. But I say tackle the violence and there will be no stigma.’