Man confined to hospital for sunbather stabbing

A paranoid schizophrenic who admitted killing a teenager as she sunbathed in Birmingham city centre has been ordered to be detained indefinitely in a secure hospital.

Inderjit Kainth, 44, denied murdering Rosie Ross, 16, but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the ground of diminished responsibility at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.

Mr Justice Eady said that Kainth, from Handsworth in Birmingham, would be released only if the Home Secretary or a mental health review panel deemed it suitable.

Rosie, who came from Aldridge in the West Midlands, was stabbed on 12 May as she relaxed in Centenary Square, Birmingham, with a friend after a shopping trip. She died later that afternoon in hospital.

Christopher Millington QC, for the prosecution, said that Kainth, an unemployed electrician who has five children, had sat yards from his victim looking "oddly out of place" in a leather jacket despite the summer heat. Under his coat he had hidden a kitchen knife, with which he stabbed Rosie in the abdomen.

Kainth fled from the scene but was caught by three passers-by, Matthew Brown, Cain Jason and Marcus Freckleton, who witnessed the attack. They were praised by the judge for their "considerable presence of mind and courage".

Mr Millington said that before the stabbing Kainth had been convinced his life was in danger from "agents of the local education authority" and believed to save his own life he had to kill a woman. "He was plainly in a psychotic state. He had paranoid delusions that he was being persecuted," Mr Millington said.

The court was told that weeks before the tragedy Kainth had made repeated visits to West Midlands Police's Tally Ho training centre in Birmingham with the intention of killing a policewoman.

Mr Millington said that Kainth had shown no regret and had even seemed relieved when he was questioned by police after the event.

Adrian Fulford QC, for the defence, said: "This sad and tragic event took place because he was seriously mentally unwell at the time. His lack of remorse at the time, we hope, is understood in this context."

The judge ordered Kainth to be detained at the Ashworth high-security hospital in Liverpool for an indefinite period.

Rosie's parents, Sean and Karen Ross, said that, while they were relieved the proceedings had come to an end, they were still struggling to cope with Rosie's death. "This time last year, we were preparing for Christmas, buying presents for Rosie and [her brother] Alex. This Christmas, we are lighting candles in memory of our daughter," they said in a written statement.

"It is every parent's nightmare for another person to take the life of your child. We wait, hoping it is just a nightmare and Rosie will walk back into our lives again but knowing this is not possible, that whatever happens here will not bring Rosie back to us. The loss of her life has devastated the lives of a family."

Detective Inspector Gary Campbell, of West Midlands Police, said the defendant had shown no signs of mental illness in the years before the attack and had led a "quiet, unremarkable" life.

He added: "It is one of the most serious and worrying aspects to any future release that he was able to operate up to a few months before Rosie's [death] without anybody knowing the thoughts and feelings he was having or what was going to follow."