87 year old on mobility scooter was stabbed repeatedly to neck and chest, Old Bailey told
Prosecutors said Thomas O’Halloran, 87, was killed in a ‘vicious attack’ by Lee Byer, 44, in Greenford, west London.
The man charged with the stabbing murder of 87-year-old Clare man Tommy O’Halloran in Greenford, West London last week faces a provisional trial next year.
Lee Byer, 44, of no fixed address, was charged on 19 August with the murder of Thomas O’Halloran and with possessing a large knife.
He appeared, via video link from Belmarsh prison, before the Old Bailey this morning.
Judge Mark Lucraft set a plea hearing for 8 November with a provisional trial of up to three weeks from 2 May 2023.
He remanded Mr Byer into custody.
Mr O’Halloran, who used a mobility scooter, was originally from Ennistymon in Co Clare, and lived in the Greenford area of west London.
Police officers were called to Cayton Road, in Greenford, west London, on 16 August to reports of a stabbing and Mr O’Halloran was declared dead at the scene.
Byers is accused of repeatedly stabbing the elderly mobility scooter rider in the neck, chest and abdomen in what the prosecutor called a “vicious attack”.
Shortly after 4pm, police received a 999 call from a member of the public who found the victim travelling in his scooter from a passageway that runs between Runneymede Gardens and Welland Gardens.
At that time, Mr O’Halloran was able to tell the passer-by that he had been stabbed, although wounds to his body were clearly visible.
The police arrived within minutes to find Mr O’Halloran had collapsed and was being helped by members of the public.
Police and medics took over first aid but he was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.54pm.
A post-mortem examination found the grandfather, who was known “throughout the local community”, had sustained multiple stab wounds to the neck, chest and abdomen.
Byer, of no fixed address, was charged on August 19 with Mr O’Halloran’s murder and possessing a large knife.
On Tuesday, he made his first appearance at the Old Bailey before the Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft QC.
Judge Lucraft set a plea hearing for November 8 with a provisional trial of up to three weeks from 2 May 2023.
He remanded the defendant into custody.
Mr O’Halloran was a passionate musician and described as “very popular” in Greenford, often busking for charity.
Footage on social media shows him busking to raise money for Ukraine months before the killing.
He is survived by his family, including his sister, two brothers, nieces and nephews.
