A former university student stalked his former lecturer and tried to kill another by stabbing him in acts which were described as "appalling". Ryan Usher, of Waldeck Road, Carrington, was also found to have assaulted Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, when suffering from persistent delusional disorder.
The acts he did were attempted murder of Dr Neil Turnbull, his ex-lecturer in Philosophy at Nottingham Trent University. Nottinghamshire Police were called to the campus in Clifton and found a male member of staff aged in his 50s who had suffered multiple injuries during the stabbing.
The shocking incident happened on January 31, 2022, where Usher charged at him and subjected him to a frenzied attack, repeatedly stabbing him to left of his body with a medium-seized kitchen knife.
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Mr Turnbull coughed up blood, and fell to the ground and collapsed. Usher was also found to have stalked Professor Lina Jansson, of the University of Nottingham, between June 21, 2021, and November 6, 2022, by sending her messages on Facebook.
But Usher, an undergrad student at Nottingham Trent, who did his Masters at the University of Nottingham, was not convicted in a criminal trial in the conventional sense, and has never entered pleas due to his mental difficulties, but was found to done the acts in question.
A jury found he did the acts - after he was diagnosed with the delusional disorder, which a judge said on Friday (February 10) meant his entire approach to life was skewed and he remained liable to commit similar acts if he was at liberty to the public.
He will now remain in a regional secure unit - and will not be released from there until such time either the Secretary of State decides that he should be or a constitutional mental health tribunal takes that decision.
The judge imposed indefinite restraining orders on the victims, and told Usher: "You must understand, I think, resign yourself, given the nature of your illness, any progress that can be made with you will be slow or minimal and, for the future, you will remain where you are".
Usher, 49, was also found to have had a knife at the Clifton campus of NTU on January 31. He remains at Arnold Lodge after Judge Stuart Rafferty, KC, made hospital orders on him.
The judge said the nature of the illness - delusional disorder - has persistent features attached to that. In at least half of cases, there is little, if any overall improvement, despite what ever treatment can be provided.
Usher's condition is chronic and enduring - in the sense it does not relapse or remit - and is constant as it stands. It was those very ideas that led him to do the act the jury found that he did, the court heard.
Judge Rafferty added: "The acts that you did were appalling. If you had been of sound mind and convicted of attempted murder by a jury, I would have been obliged to consider in your case a sentence of life imprisonment and in any event a sentence of many, many years imprisonment, even if I did not pass an indeterminate sentence.
"I appreciate you do not accept you have such an illness. That is one of the difficulties you face - but acts you committed leave me in doubt - you were driven by a mania; a belief there was a conspiracy involving people, including the victim, to commit themselves criminal acts, and that led you to arm yourself with weapons, to plan and attack, and carry that act out.
"It is only good fortune that a life was not lost. Should you ever be fit to take your trial, it is highly likely that the Secretary of State will make an order that will happen".
A spokesperson for Nottingham Trent University said: “Our primary concern throughout this incident has been the welfare of our colleague who was the victim of an isolated and unprovoked attack. This was an extremely traumatic incident for him to go through, which also had an impact on his family.
“We have provided him with extensive support throughout this past year and continue to do so, and are supporting all those other colleagues who have been personally affected. We are grateful to our colleagues who reacted quickly and bravely to the situation, and were able to intervene until police arrived.”
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