Defendant had warned 'I am high risk' before killing pensioner
Cameron Davis, 31, was found guilty this lunchtime
Last updated 9th Jul 2024
A man's been found guilty of killing a Devon pensioner - who he'd never met - in what a judge today told the victim's family was a 'shocking and brutal' crime.
Cameron Davis, 31, had admitted killing 74 year old Lorna England in an Exeter park on a Saturday afternoon last February with a knife - but denied murder - and will now be sentenced on Thursday.
During the trial 17 health and medical professionals gave evidence - including over concerns by support workers that the defendant 'should have been sectioned' in the days before.
Exeter Crown Court heard, in the days running up to the attack, Davis had told support workers he was in love with one of them and they could be at 'high risk' in his words.
The housing support team confirmed it had desperately tried to raise concerns about him - and make sure the 'dots were joined' in terms of previous allegations - but no one agency took responsibility.
On the morning of the attack the defendant had been been taken to hospital in Exeter - after saying he was looking to kill a random person - but was not sectioned and after the killing told police 'I cried out for help' and 'why didn't they listen?'
Danielle Furzey, the housing options manager for East Devon District Council, told the jury the defendant first came into contact with the service in October 2021, while he was sleeping rough in the Exmouth area and disclosed some mental health issues as part of his application process.
She told the jury about her response following a comment by the defendant who said he was 'in love' with another staff member and reported being 'paranoid and hearing voices'. The jury heard. in the week before the attack, she spent more than three hours on the police non-emergency line, before going to a police station in person after failing to get through, as she sought to 'join the dots' about previous allegations against the defendant and ensure her staff member was safeguarded.
The court heard the defendant was not removed from his accomodation that day - with a seven day process set in place to ensure there was time to ensure he had support. Ms Furzey said the defendant was saying he felt he was a 'risk to the public' and she felt he should have been sectioned - and 'things were more urgent' than a pre-planned meeting on the 20th, feeling she was being pushed from one to team to another 'and there wasn't any ownership of what was happening'. The court heard she even set up a WhatsAPP group to keep everyone in the EDDC team up to date as she felt he was a 'suicide risk and risk to the public'.
In evidence, the jury were told about a text to a temporary accomodation officer on February 14th where the defendant has said he was 'getting scared going into shops and being around people at the moment'. The text added he felt 'paranoid and vulnerable' and warned 'if it worsens in the next week or so, voices will take over and people will be at high risk'.
The court was told he also mentioned his love for another support worker at EDDC and how a previous 'search for his true love' in Bournemouth resulted in a police intervention - later suggesting he'd wished harm to that woman and her family.
The jury were told he was 'calm' when discussing his love for the other EDDC worker, but also 'evasive' and would not look at the officer in the eye - while outlining how he could 'hurt her and in the worst case scenario kill her'.
The jury were told the defendant felt frustrated 'with the little help he was getting' for his mental health both at the time and previously in his life.
The court was told about the moment the defendant was given a letter advising him to leave his supported accomodation in Exmouth in a week's time - where he said 'the foodbank had delivered' and he had food at the time, but was not sure what he would do.
The jury were told he was being removed from the premises for breach of temporary accomodation rules for saying he might end up killing or seriously injuring someone.
Cameron Davis, 31, fatally attacked Lorna England, 74, as she walked home through Ludwell Valley Park, in the Wonford area of Exeter, Devon, on the afternoon of February 18 last year.
Exeter Crown Court heard Davis admits killing Mrs England and pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter by diminished responsibility but is on trial for her murder.
On the trial's opening day Joanna Martin KC, prosecuting, said Davis stabbed Mrs England to death because he was "angry and upset" rather than affected by a mental illness to a level that his responsibility was diminished.
She described how Mrs England had left her home, where David, her husband of 52 years, remained to walk to buy flour from a Lidl supermarket and was returning when she was attacked.
"Up until this point on February 18 2023, for Lorna and for David, it was a perfectly normal day," Ms Martin told the jury.
"What followed was something that no-one could contemplate, on that crisp February afternoon here in Exeter. No-one except one man - the defendant Cameron Davis.
"At about 3.55pm, in a wooded area of Ludwell Valley Park, Cameron Davis attacked and fatally stabbed Lorna England with a knife. She died at the scene."
The court heard Davis did not know Mrs England and stabbed her twice, once across her neck and a stab wound to her chest with a depth of 12cm. Mrs England also sustained defensive injuries to her hand.
Ms Martin said: "He says he was so mentally unwell at the time that his rational thinking or his ability to control his actions was substantially impaired because of a mental illness."
The trial will hear from two psychiatrists - one who says Davis had a schizoaffective disorder and a second who says he has a personality disorder which made him "manipulative and angry" when combined with drug and alcohol abuse.
Ms Martin said Dr John Sandford, the second psychiatrist, believed Davis' actions were "as a result of him being angry and upset".
Jurors were told Davis was living in temporary accommodation provided by a housing association, having been homeless in Exeter when he moved there from Bournemouth.
On January 23, he asked to talk to his support workers as his mental health was deteriorating, saying he would either hurt himself or someone else, Ms Martin said.
He was assessed by two psychiatrists on January 28. They decided he did not need to be sectioned, with Davis becoming angry when told this.
Davis began expressing his love for his support worker between February 9 and 16 and was seen by the mental health team, who decided he did not need to be sectioned.
He was then given seven days' notice to leave his accommodation.
Ms Martin told how Davis called police at 4.41am on the morning of February 18 - the day he attacked Mrs England - and threatened to take his life in a fire at his accommodation unless he was arrested.
Paramedics and police attended the property, where they found Davis sitting on the pavement outside.
"He said he was going to kill someone if he was discharged that day," Ms Martin said.
"He said he had committed other crimes in the past and always got away with it. He repeated that if he was discharged, he would kill a random person."
Davis was taken to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, where he was told that if he did anything it would be a pre-meditated crime.
Two psychiatrists discussed whether to section Davis and decided that he did not need to be admitted to hospital, with Davis leaving at 12.49pm.
He later bought vodka and a knife at a Lidl supermarket and went to Ludwell Valley Park, where he fatally attacked Mrs England and took her mobile phone.
A dog walker saw "physical contact" between Davis and Mrs England and went to her aid, while Davis walked away to dispose of the knife, phone and his hooded top.
Emergency services were called and attended the scene but Mrs England was declared dead at 4.44pm.
After leaving the park, Davis went to shops and two pubs in Exeter before being spotted on CCTV sitting on the pavement in the city centre at 9.30pm.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder, telling police: "I f* warned you c**, that's why I f**** done it. I didn't want to but none of you f** c**** listened."
Davis later said: "Why didn't they listen to me at the hospital? The people at the hospital should pay for this. I cried out for help."
The defendant was assessed at the police station and declared fit to be detained and fit to be interviewed, Ms Martin said.
He made no comment in police interviews.