Slaughter of an innocent

A man was stabbed to death by a paranoid schizophrenic who left a psychiatric hospital on a mission to kill.

Denis Finnegan, 50, a banker, was attacked as he cycled through Richmond Park in September last year.

Today John Barrett, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at the Old Bailey.

The day before he struck he walked out of his mental unit and bought a set of kitchen knives at B&Q.

The case sparked a row over how Barrett, who had a history of mental problems and violence, was allowed to leave Springfield Hospital in Tooting.

Mr Finnegan's brother John demanded an independent inquiry, adding: "Something has got to be done about how these people are looked after. If John Barrett had been looked after properly then Denis would still be here."

The court heard that Barrett had lain in wait for a victim in the park.

Crispin Aylett, prosecuting, described how he used a "lucid but chilling process of elimination" to decide on the person that he would kill.

Voices in his head had urged him to go out and murder someone but they told him it should not be a woman, a child or an elderly person, the court heard.

Mr Finnegan was the first person to pass by to fit his criteria. Mr Finnegan, of Putney, who had just returned from a two-year round the world trip, was ambushed and stabbed several times 200 yards from the East Sheen Gate.

A doctor and two nurses who were in the park went to his aid, but his injuries were so severe that he died three hours later in hospital.

Mr Aylett told the court that Barrett had a history of mental illness dating back to the mid-Nineties.

In the last few years his condition had deteriorated and he had become increasingly anti-social.

In September 2002 he was convicted of wounding with intent after an incident at Springfield Hospital when he attacked a patient as well as two nurses who tried to intervene.

Barrett was ordered to be detained at the hospital under the Mental Health Act. Just over a year later he was discharged by a mental health tribunal to be treated as a care-inthecommunity psychiatric patient.

The court heard how his condition deteriorated last year, partly due to the break up of a long-term relationship. On 1 September he walked into Springfield Hospital and was initially placed in a secure unit because there were no beds available on an open ward. Barrett protested about not being allowed onto an open ward and a judgment was made to allow him one hour's leave which was confined to the hospital grounds.

Mr Aylett said the decision had been made because on previous occasions he had always returned. "On this occasion he discharged himself with terrible consequences," said Mr Aylett.

Barrett stayed the night with a friend and the following morning took a taxi to Richmond Park.

Mr Finnegan had only returned to London a month earlier after taking his career break. He had used redundancy money from his banking job at the Royal Bank of Scotland to tour America and Australia.

The Old Bailey heard how Springfield Hospital had ordered an internal inquiry into what were described as "potential failures" in the system that allowed Barrett to go free.

Barrett, who is unemployed, admitted manslaughter. Nigel Fisher, chief executive for the South West London and St George's Mental Health NHS Trust, said: "We very much regret the events surrounding the death of Mr Finnegan. I take this matter very seriously and am committed to ensuring that an in-depth analysis of the incident takes place."