Man who killed London custody officer by kicking her in the head is locked up indefinitely
A man who killed a custody officer by kicking her in the head has been locked up indefinitely.
Humphrey Burke, 28, attacked 54-year-old Lorraine Barwell as she tried to escort him from court in June 2015.
Last month, he admitted manslaughter by diminished responsibility and was handed an indefinite hospital order at the Old Bailey on Tuesday.
The court heard that on the day of the attack, Burke had been due for sentence at Blackfriars Crown Court having admitted arson and attempting to rob two bookmakers in London.
He had smashed up one premises with a hammer after a cashier refused his demand for cash, then set light to the other, accidentally burning his clothes in the process.
Concerns for Burke’s mental health had been raised before his appearance at Blackfriars and he was put down as “violent” and requiring a “three-man unlock”.
A colleague of Lorraine Barwell described how Burke pulled his leg back and kicked her in the face before he could be transferred to a prison van.
The court heard Burke suffered from a delusion that he was a robot acting under an “external force” at the time.
At 6ft tall and weighing 90kg, Burke was significantly bigger than 5ft 5in Ms Barwell.
Ms Barwell, who had worked for security firm Serco for more than 10 years, died from her injuries on July 1 2015.
In victim impact statements, Ms Barwell’s family described the loss of the much-loved mother and grandmother as “emotional torture”.
Her daughter wept as she told the court: “Humphrey Burke will never be able to comprehend the damage done to my mum or my family.
“As a family, no sentence will ever be enough to compensate the loss we have suffered.
“He still took a life. He does not – and should not – be allowed to forget that as we never will.”
Sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft QC said the events surrounding Ms Barwell’s death were “terrifying and appalling”.
The judge rejected a penal element to the sentence in light of his mental state, saying assessment and treatment was “key”.
Burke made no reaction throughout the sentence hearing.