Man admits beating pensioner, 87, to death with walking stick at train station

A man has admitted to beating a ‘dearly loved’ pensioner to death with his own walking stick while under the influence of a ‘zombie’ drug in London, a court was told.

Bernard Fowler, 87, was on the way to get his morning newspaper when he was attacked outside Harold Wood station in Havering.

The Old Bailey heard how Miles Sekai beat and kicked his victim to death at the railway station.

The 23-year-old was said to be suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and allegedly under the influence of Spice, a synthetic drug linked to psychotic episodes.

Beforehand, the defendant had threatened a guard at the station and made some ‘rather unusual movements’, the court had heard.

It was further alleged that he had the drug Spice in his system when tested two days after the killing.

At a previous hearing, the court was told the attack on February 27, 2024, was ‘unprovoked and random’.

Sekai, of Brent Cross, in Hendon, denied murder but pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Fowler by diminished responsibility and assaulting a police officer.

The pleas were accepted by the Crown, and judge Judy Khan KC adjourned sentencing until April 4 when two doctors will give evidence about the his mental state.

He faces a possible hospital order of hybrid order with a custodial element, the court heard.

In a statement issued by British Transport Police at the time of his death, Mr Fowler’s family said: ‘Bernie was a dearly loved brother, father and grandfather who had been living in the area for over 20 years.

‘He was a quiet, gentle man who lived alone but who, over the years, had helped many of the residents in his local community.

‘The family are devastated by the news of his death. He didn’t deserve to be attacked in such a brutal way, just going out to get his local paper.’

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