Jacob Billington's killer won't attend inquest hearing
He died in a series of brutal knife attacks in 2020 in Birmingham
A pre inquest hearing into the death of Jacob Billington, who died after being a victim of a series of brutal knife attacks in Birmingham city centre, has heard that his killer won't be attending.
23-year-old Jacob Billington, "bled to death in the street" after being fatally wounded in the neck and shoulder by paranoid schizophrenic Zephaniah McLeod.
McLeod, 28, has admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility over the killing of the musician, who worked at Sheffield Hallam University, in the early hours of 6 September 2020.
He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 21 years at Birmingham Crown Court in 2021, for the manslaughter of Jacob Billington, four counts of attempted murder and three charges of wounding.
Hi medical records will now be used at the hearing instead.
An independent investigation into the supervision of McLeod, commissioned by the NHS, said he was released from HMP Parc in south Wales "with no planned contact with statutory services" five months before the attacks.
The inquiry report, published in July, found there were four missed opportunities to better understand McLeod’s mental health and "allow for a planned release" from prison.
Jacob's mother described the findings as a catalogue of "astonishing failings and incompetence".
"Finally, after a two-and-a-half year wait, we have this report. This is an unacceptably long time to wait for answers.
"Now we finally have it, it catalogues a massive amount of astonishing failings and incompetence. It speaks to a terrifying lack of concern, or even interest in how dangerous this man was.
"Few people checked, few kept adequate records or assessed his risk effectively, or even at all. We are told about 'missed opportunities'.
"These are not missed opportunities, these are people not doing their job, these are procedures not being followed and a catastrophic lack of professional standards, leading to a young man losing his life.
"There appear to be no consequences at all for the agencies involved, and I am not satisfied in any way the failings identified in this report will not continue to happen.
"All the agencies knew about the offender, they knew he was dangerous and violent, that he didn't comply with medication, and he had made multiple threats to hurt people.
"In the end, he carried out those threats. Eight innocent people have had their lives changed forever.
"I will never see what Jacob would have become. He died due to a catalogue of errors and poor practice, and this I simply can't forgive."