Newcastle man stabbed and killed friend while suffering from delusions, court hears

A man stabbed his former friend 21 times while he was suffering delusions, a court has heard.

Yasim Ismael killed Beimnet Gebreab, known as Ben, in the Arthur's Hill area of Newcastle in November 2022.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Ismael had armed himself with a knife and gone to confront Mr Gebreab after he formed an unfounded, delusional belief that his victim had distributed a video of him carrying out a sex act.

He ended up repeatedly knifing him, causing his death.

Ismael was originally charged with murder but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after doctors who examined him agreed his responsibility for the killing was low because he was seriously mentally unwell.

He has now been sent to a secure psychiatric hospital by a judge.

The court heard Mr Gebreab, 50, who was originally from Eritrea, had lived in the UK for many years. At the time of his death, he was living and working in the North East while his wife and children were in London.

His employer described him as "pleasant, good-humoured and respectful" and an agency through which he initially worked said he was a "friendly, polite and jolly man who always had a smile and was easy-going". He was described as someone who would not want a confrontation.

For around three years before the killing, the two men had lived in the same multi-occupancy block in Newcastle and had previously got on well. In the months leading up to the killing, their relationship deteriorated and around three months before it, there was an argument between them which culminated in Ben putting his hands around Ismael's throat.

Judge Paul Sloan KC, sentencing Ismael, said: "At about the same time, your mental health was deteriorating dramatically. You were experiencing persecutory delusions about the deceased, in particular, you believed he was deliberately keeping you awake at night by placing a noisy fan immediately above wherever you happened to be in your flat, the deceased occupying the flat above yours."

A friend who saw it said the fan was small and unlikely to cause the disturbance Ismael claimed.

Ismael decided to move out and then developed an unfounded and delusional belief that Mr Gebreab had taken a video of him and was showing it to others, including his new housemates, who Ismael thought were mocking him about it behind his back.

In the two weeks leading up to the attack, Ismael described himself as being "low, preoccupied and angry" and went on to decide to confront Mr Gebreab about the supposed video. He armed himself with a knife, which he said he took for protection, and just before 6am on Monday 14 November 14 last year, he went to Mr Gebreab's home.

Mr Gebreab suffered a total of 21 stab wounds to his right arm, both legs and back and had multiple defensive injuries to his hands and arms.

Ismael left the scene and rang the emergency services saying he had stabbed someone.

He was found by police still carrying the knife, which had a 20cm blade but was cooperative with officers and expressed his distress at having killed someone with whom he had been on friendly terms.

Ismael, 39, of Dilstson Road, Newcastle, who had been in the UK since 2013, had been working and has no previous convictions, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility and having a bladed article.

In a statement, his wife Mehret Isaac, who he met in 2000 in Eritrea, said the news of his death came as “a shock to the whole family.”

Her statement read: “Myself and my children were in great shock and were grieving. I have not been sleeping since I received the bad news. My life changed for the worse and forever.

“I have asked myself why my husband was killed by someone and why this happened when he had done nothing wrong. Why did that person stab him, that was the big question in my mind. I have been thinking about all of the questions about Beimnet’s death and the thoughts have been running through my mind. I have no answers to my questions yet, why did this happen?

“We are still grieving and we have found it difficult to come to terms. I feel like he is still alive but when I wake up I find the reality different because he is not with us anymore. I feel sad because he has gone forever and we have lost a lot of things as he is not around. We remember a lot of good things from him, we remember his smile, his laugh, his good talk, his care. We lost all of these things together. We are sad as we are without him.”

Referring to victim impact statements, Judge Sloan said: "It's clear the deceased was a loving and caring individual, a family man who provided for his wife and two children. His wife is unable to come to terms with what happened.

"No sentence I am permitted by law to impose could even begin to ease the pain and suffering the deceased's family and friends have suffered and will continue to suffer as a result of your actions."

However he added that Ismael's severe mental illness, which led to persecutory delusions and auditory hallucinations, meant his level of responsibility was low. He therefore imposed a hospital order with a restriction order for the protection of the public.

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One of the city’s Eritrean community leaders, Yonas Kifle, penned a tribute on behalf of the wider community affected by Mr Gebreab's death.

It read: “The violence and manner of his death have been very shocking to me, he was such a kind, patient man, he was the last person I would expect to have been killed in this way.

“As a representative of the Eritrean community, I would like to say that for the majority of our community, Beimnet was a friend and to many he was a parent, a husband and clearly a father to his adored children.

“I am in great anguish as I stand here without him, he was kind and considerate to everyone who had the opportunity to get to know him.

“He was a modest friend as well as something of a father figure to our Newcastle community and society.

“When he was suddenly and brutally snatched from us, we felt empty and cold in his absence and this feeling of great sorrow has persisted in our hearts ever since. We haven’t even been able to close the breach that has opened up.”

Speaking after the conviction, Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Tomasz Fowler said: “Beimnet’s tragic death has undoubtedly left a large hole across the community he was such a big part of. He is greatly missed by his loved ones, that much is clear.

“While nothing will ever bring him back, I hope today’s sentencing can serve as some form of closure for them all. It was only right we investigated what happened and brought Ismael to justice for his actions.

“Using weapons and committing violent acts are never acceptable forms of behaviour as we see all too often the tragic consequences they have.

“As a force, we will do all we can to ensure offenders are brought before the courts to be dealt with by the criminal justice system.”