Schoolgirl’s killer ‘left prison unsupervised’

Christina Edkins, described by her family as a ‘beautiful, bright, caring girl’ was stabbed to death by Phillip Simelane, 23, on the upper deck of a bus in central Birmingham on 7 March.

Passengers on the bus tried to revive the teenager, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘Paranoid schizophrenia’

Mr Simelane was arrested shortly afterwards. A psychiatrist involved in a recent assessment of Christina’s killer said Mr Simelane had been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia for several years.

He has been detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act after admitting her manslaughter.

“To find ourselves in this position” says Chris Melia, Christina’s great-uncle, who joined her parents Jason and Kathleen in court, “is both alien and deeply traumatic – especially so for her parents.

“An ordinary, hardworking, family has experienced the horror, distress and pain associated with such a devastating crime along with the resultant loss of privacy… the family are all innocent victims and must pay the penalty as we stand by helplessly and watch the lives of the people we love shattered like precious glass, knowing we can never put the fragile pieces back together”.

A close relative of Philip Simelane told Channel 4 News tonight that she, like Christina Edkins’ family, was still waiting for answers about his care. She said her sympathy was with Christina’s family and friends. “Our hearts are still broken by everything that has happened,” she added.

‘Diminished responsibility’

Mr Simelane today pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Birmingham Crown Court.

But details have now emerged which raise major questions about how he was allowed to leave prison last December without any mental health support.

Mr Simelane was well known to the authorities. West Midlands Police have revealed that, over the last decade, they received 21 calls to Mr Simelane’s family home.

In May last year he was jailed for repeatedly jabbing a kitchen knife towards his mother’s stomach, saying “Why did you call the police?”. On the way to the police station he then punched a female police officer in the face.

Mr Simelane’s mother subsequently secured a restraining order against him.

‘Caution for battery’

Previously, in 2009 he received a police caution for battery following an incident involving his three year old brother.

He also has convictions for criminal damage and possession of cocaine.

The court heard today that Mr Simelane, who came to Britain from Swaziland with his family aged nine, had a history of psychiatric problems over many years.

Critically, his mother had repeatedly made efforts to get him help, noticing that by the age of 14 he was becoming increasingly “paranoid” and refusing to leave his bedroom. She went to his GP, the court heard, but “nothing came of it”.

She grew increasingly desperate as he became more and more confrontational and convinced his mother hated him.

At one point, she even wrote a letter to a judge, asking that her son be hospitalised.

And yet there appears to have been minimal intervention in his treatment until he was imprisoned late last year. For years his mental illness went “unchecked”.

By the time he was being assessed in prison, one doctor expressed concerns about Mr Simelane returning to the community, insisting that with a diagnosis of psychosis he be placed in a psychiatric intensive care unit.

Another suggestion appears to have favoured intervention services within the community.

And yet, remarkably, it appears neither option was pursued.

Mr Simelane was released from prison without any support. He was homeless and sleeping rough at the time he killed Christina.

‘Overwhelmed by illness’

“It is difficult to understand”, said the Mrs Justice Thirlwall in sentencing Mr Simelane, “how it came about that someone with your level of illness was sleeping rough without anyone to help you… the terrible reality is that Christina was the person who happened to be on the bus at the time you were overwhelmed by your illness”.

Mr Simelane’s barrister told the court that when asked earlier this morning if his client wanted to say anything about the case, he replied:

“I didn’t mean to kill that girl. I’m ashamed of what has happened and I would wish to apologise”.

Christina’s family, in a statement released today, have questioned the circumstances surrounding Mr Simelane’s release from custody: “When this man was discharged from prison on 13 December 2012, why was the recommendation (made a few weeks earlier by mental health experts) that he be supervised after release whilst adjusting to life back in the community, not followed up?”

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust released a statement today, expressing their “sincere condolences” to Christina’s family and adding:

“What is clear is that there are lessons to be learned for us and others involved in the care of Mr Simelane to prevent such a tragedy happening again in the future.

As a trust we are currently leading an external review… and intend to report on our findings in December 2013″.