A man who stabbed a 74-year-old stranger to death in a Devon park three hours after telling doctors he would kill someone when they refused to section him has been found guilty of murder.
Cameron Davis stabbed Lorna England in the heart and neck as she walked home from the shops in Exeter. When he was arrested, Davis told police: “I warned you … why didn’t they listen to me at the hospital?”
England’s family described Davis as an “angry and manipulative liar”. They said in a statement: “Our family has been devastated by the brutal murder of our much loved Lorna. We will never be able to come to terms with losing Lorna in this truly horrific and evil way.
“Every day we are tortured and tormented as we constantly relive in our heads what Lorna endured. We may never know or understand the reasons for this callous attack on a defenceless, kind and beautiful lady.”
England’s relatives said they hoped Davis would remain in prison for the rest of his life. He will be sentenced on Thursday.
Davis, 31, had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. A psychiatrist for his defence team, Dr Richard Pool, concluded he had a mental illness, schizoaffective disorder, at the time.
But the prosecution refused to accept his plea. Its expert, Dr John Sandford, told the court: “I find no evidence of abnormality of his mental functioning at the time. It was a purposeful action and he was perfectly aware of the reality of what he was doing.”
Joanna Martin KC, prosecuting, said that on 18 February last year England went to buy flour, leaving her husband of 52 years, David, at home. He usually prepared a cup of tea for her return.
After leaving a supermarket, England cut across Ludwell Valley Park where Davis attacked her with a knife he had just bought in the same store. He slashed her across the neck and plunged the blade 12cm into her chest and heart.
In January 2023 Davis had told a support worker that he would kill himself or someone else. He went to a police station and was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital. Two psychiatrists examined him and said he did not need to be detained.
On the morning of the killing, Davis called the police and said he would burn his flat down if he was not arrested. When emergency services arrived, he told them he would kill a “random person” if he was not detained, and he was taken back to the Royal Devon and Exeter.
He was seen by mental health specialists and again said he was going to kill someone, but he was discharged.
Davis left hospital at 12.49pm and killed England at about 3.55pm. When he was picked up in Exeter city centre, he told police: “I fucking warned you. None of you … listened.”
Giving evidence during his trial, Davis blamed failures in his care for the killing. He told the jury: “It was a mess-up. The whole of the mental health team. I do blame them for not getting the help I needed.”
