A man has been given a hospital order after stabbing a 20-year-old to death in front of family in his Newham home, without “any perceivable motive”.
Menelik Campbell, 22, will spend an “indeterminate” period in hospital after experts found he was psychotic and hearing voices at the time he repeatedly stabbed 20-year-old Elliot Francique, last April.
Campbell is believed to have “become fixated” on Mr Francique for no apparent reason, before forcing his way into his family home in Plaistow and killing him.
The Old Bailey heard how at about 3.20pm on Tuesday, April 19 last year, Mr Francique was at his home with family when the doorbell rang.
When the door was opened a man dressed all in black and wearing a balaclava burst in, shouting “where’s Elliot?”
He pushed past and made his way upstairs where the sounds of a disturbance could be heard, and the man and Elliot were close together.
The man then ran down the stairs and fled the house.
Mr Francique was found bleeding profusely, especially from around his neck.
Police and paramedics rushed to the scene and did all they could to save him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post mortem later found he had suffered eleven stab wounds and four cutting wounds to his body. He was found to have died as a result of blood loss from the injuries.
Scotland Yard launched an investigation, and officers traced the attacker through the streets on CCTV footage, and back to Stratford.
A clear shot of his face showed him getting on a bus to go back to his home address.
This journey was linked to Campbell, as he paid for it using his phone, which was linked to his own personal account.
Campbell was arrested at his home address on Wednesday, April 27 last year.
Cell site analysis of his phone, which was found in his pocket, showed that it had been with him when he killed Mr Francique.
The phone also showed searches on the phone, made around a week after Mr Francique was killed, for “crime in Stratford London” and “lowest possible sentence for murder”.
There were also numerous searches for knives including samurai sword, kukri knife, flick knife and Rambo knife.
Campbell did not answer any questions following his arrest, and he was charged with Mr Francique’s murder on April 28, 2022.
He appeared at court the next day and was remanded in custody.
In prison he was seen by a number of mental health experts, who all agreed Campbell was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia, and that he was psychotic and hearing voices that commanded him what to do when he killed Mr Francique.
As a result on April 4, 2023, Campbell entered his plea of guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and the plea was accepted.
At the Old Bailey on Wednesday Campbell, of Dalston Lane in Hackney, was sentenced under section 37 of the Mental Health Act 1983 with a section 41 restriction of indeterminate length.
Mr Francique’s family have spoken of their “unbearable” suffering following his death.
“Elliot was a much-loved brother and son and was soon going to become an uncle,” they said. “For this to happen in the family home, where we lived and loved each other, made our suffering almost unbearable.
“The actions of the person that took Elliot from us has in short devastated each and every member of our family and inflicted pain and suffering that will last for the rest of our lives.”
Detective Chief Inspector Kelly Allen of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “This has been a horrendous ordeal for Elliot’s family.
“A man forced his way into the family home, and murdered Elliot in front of them. The home, where the family should come together to grieve, was now a crime scene. It is hard to imagine this family’s pain and anguish and my thoughts and deepest sympathies go out to them all.
“As for Campbell, we may never know why arrived at Elliot’s home armed with a knife and determined to kill. Certainly Elliot was not involved in any activity that might have given Campbell any grounds. Elliot and Campbell had known each other years before, but do not appear to have been involved in any argument or dispute.
“Campbell appears to have become fixated on Elliot during a psychotic incident and we may never understand why he carried out such a terrible act.
“The lack of any perceivable motive meant this was a difficult investigation. Campbell was apparently a stranger, who had just turned up and carried out a violent killing.
“This meant we had to work hard to uncover the person responsible and this took hours and hours of detailed inquiries. I want to pay tribute officers and staff involved in this investigation, it was their dedication and hard work that directly led to us finding the person responsible for Elliot’s death.”
