Afghan refugee who stabbed dog walker Wayne Broadhurst to death sentenced to indefinite hospital order

An Afghan refugee who fatally stabbed a man walking his dog in a random attack has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

Uber driver Dawood Safi, 28, attacked his landlord Shahzad Farrukh with a knife before going on to kill Wayne Broadhurst, 49, in Uxbridge on 27 October last year.

A 14-year-old boy was also injured after he was caught up in the rampage that started at Safi's home in Midhurst Gardens.

Mr Broadhurst, who worked as a street sweeper for Ealing Council, was walking his dog Harry when he was stabbed 14 times in the head, neck, chest, and back by Safi.

On Monday, Mrs Justice Cutts ordered Safi be held indefinitely in a secure hospital to receive mental health treatment, after finding he was "in a psychotic state" at the time of the stabbings.

The judge also recommended he be deported, saying his "continued presence in the UK is to its detriment", but added the final decision lies with the home secretary.

Prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw KC told a jury that Mr Broadhurst had the "terrible misfortune" to walk with his dog past the house.

He said: "For no apparent reason, rational or otherwise, he was stabbed to death in a frenzied, random and entirely unprovoked attack.

"Mr Broadhurst died in the street, with the dog by his side."

Witness calls attack a 'butchering'

One witness described the attack on the Liverpool FC fan as a "butchering" and a court heard Safi looked "possessed" as the incident unfolded.

Southwark Crown Court was told Safi, an Afghan refugee, had suffered a "collapse" in his mental health in the days before the stabbings and was suffering delusions that his family was conspiring against him.

The court heard Mr Broadhurst's relatives wanted Safi to be tried and convicted of murder, but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility after receiving evidence about his mental health.

Offensive weapon

He also admitted causing actual bodily harm to the teenager and possession of an offensive weapon, and was found guilty of attempting to murder Mr Farrukh after a trial.

The jury could not reach a verdict on the more serious attempted murder charge relating to the teenage boy and was discharged.

The court heard Safi lied about his age, claiming to be 17, when he arrived in the UK on the back of a lorry in 2020, and he was subsequently granted asylum in 2022.

He was living as a lodger in Mr Farrukh's home and was suffering from delusions and psychosis in the days before the attacks, the jury was told.

He attacked his landlord in his home with a large kitchen knife before the incident spilled out on to the street, where one witness, Daniella Jarvis, told police Safi looked "like he was possessed".

In her sentencing remarks to Safi, Mrs Justice Cutts said: "Wayne Broadhurst, a gentle and quiet man, had the misfortune to be walking his dog at the time.

"As he emerged from the alleyway on to the street, you set upon and killed him in a frenzied, random, and completely unprovoked assault involving stabbing him at least 14 times."

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The judge acknowledged the "devastating" impact of the crime on Mr Broadhurst's family, and added he was "a hard-working and decent man who was deeply loved".

Mr Broadhurst's partner, Ann Newman, told the court she had had a "future stolen from me" and described facing up to a daily battle with grief and loss.

Her sister Laura Ireland-Cochrane said the family has struggled to come to terms with Safi being convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.

She added they also have the worry that Safi could one day be set free again if his mental health improves.

(c) Sky News 2026: Afghan refugee who stabbed dog walker Wayne Broadhurst to death sentenced to indefinite