A killer bludgeoned his next-door neighbour to death with a hammer after wrongly believing he had been watching him through the walls. Tarik Hussein, 28, who was suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia, developed delusional thoughts about his neighbour, 56-year-old shop worker Esmaeil Tofigh.
He believed that Mr Tofigh was covertly watching him and listening to him. Hussein also expressed bizarre unfounded claims that his neighbour had bodies buried underneath his floorboards, and that he had a hostage in a garden shed, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Paramedics attended Plymouth Grove in Longsight after receiving a call from Hussein in the early hours of Sunday, February 3. He appeared to have been suffering from a 'mental health crisis' and claimed that Mr Tofigh, who lived alone, had been listening to him through the walls.
The paramedics were cautious after noticing Hussein's hand was bleeding and that it had been covered in a tea towel. He told them that he'd been involved in a 'fight' with his neighbour.
They discovered Mr Tofigh's body next door. He was dead, lay in a pool of blood, having been brutally killed in his own home. "It was immediately obvious that he had been the focus of unsparing violence," prosecutor Neil Fryman said.
The police were alerted and Hussein was arrested. When officers arrived, he admitted that he'd killed his neighbour
He was arrested and Hussein began recounting delusional beliefs about his neighbour. Mr Fryman said: "He believed Mr Tofigh had been covertly watching him through the walls with a series of electromagnetic cameras, that he had the bodies of others buried beneath his floorboards, that he had a hostage in his garden shed, and that he was poisoning his family.
"He claimed that he had been the target of cruelties from Esmail Tofigh since he was 14-years-old." He also admitted that he'd killed Mr Tofigh by hitting him over the head with a hammer.
Injuries sustained by Mr Tofigh suggested that he'd fought for his life as Hussein rained down blows on him. Mr Tofigh died at the scene.
He lived alone at the property, and had moved to the UK in the early 2000s from his native Iran in search of a better life. Mr Tofigh married in the UK and had two children. The couple later separated.
"He was involved in the local community, he was widely respected," a statement on behalf of his family said. "He was very much a family man, and he will be sorely missed."
Hussein had not committed any criminal offences prior to the killing. Doctors noted that his psychosis had been developing over 'years', and that the offence was 'strongly linked to his illness'.
He had a history of alcohol and drug abuse but this was not the cause of his mental health issues, the court heard. Dr Lucy Bacon, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, told the court that Hussein, who had caring responsibilities for his mother, 'knew something was wrong' with him.
"Unfortunately he didn't know what was wrong with him at all, that is normal in developing psychosis," she said. "He had a real worry that if he told anyone that things weren't right with him, his mother would be taken away and he wouldn't be able to look after his brother."
Defending, Andy Scott said Hussein had never previously received any medication because he hadn't been diagnosed. Judge Elizabeth Nicholls adjourned sentencing until tomorrow morning. (Fri)
It is expected that Hussein, of Plymouth Grove, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, will be sentenced under the Mental Health Act to receive treatment in hospital.
