'HAUNTED'
My son’s terrifying death in 90-minute stabbing spree ‘tortures me every time I close my eyes’, mum tells court
A HEARTBROKEN mum told a court her son's death at the hands of a paranoid schizophrenic during a stabbing spree "tortures me every time I close my eyes".
She said Jacob Billington, 23, would have been terrified as he bled to death in the street after being knifed during a frenzied rampage in Birmingham.
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Seven others were also injured in 90 minutes of carnage across the city centre on September 6 last year.
Jacob, who was visiting a friend studying in the city, was described as "bright, cheeky and talented" in a victim impact statement by mum Joanne yesterday.
She said: "I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to my son - he was dead before he knew anything was wrong.
"I am haunted about how he died, how terrified he must have been.
"This tortures me every time I close my eyes."
Zephaniah McLeod, 28, has previously admitted his manslaughter by diminished responsibility.
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He also wounded seven others including Jacob's friend and bandmate Michael Callaghan, 24, who was knifed in the neck.
It left him partially paralysed down his left side and caused massive blood loss which triggered a stroke.
Michael, a medical engineer, appeared in court walking unaided for the start of a two-day sentencing hearing.
In his statement, he said: "Ever since McLeod murdered my friend and stuck a knife in my neck, I often wish he had succeeded in killing me and still sometimes do."
The victims and their families heard McLeod was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2013, but "never" had proper treatment.
Mrs Billington told the court she hoped ";all the agencies involved" made sure his care was "properly looked in to, and that all involved remember my son bled to death in the street at the hands of someone well known to many agencies".
McLeod, who had previous convictions for robbery, assault, supplying drugs and possessing an imitation firearm, had been out of contact with psychiatric health services since his release after a three-year prison term in April 2020.
He was then in the community "unsupervised" at the height of the first Covid lockdown - despite a history of refusing to take his medication in prison and speaking in 2018 of hearing voices which said "kill 'em, stab, stab 'em, they're talking about you".
Karim Khalil QC, prosecuting, said mental health services eventually made contact with McLeod, but he missed a psychiatric appointment just four days before his rampage.
Mr Khalil said: "He armed himself with two large knives and aimed at parts of the body, namely the head, neck and chest where the most severe injuries would be likely to be caused.
"We suggest the fact some victims sustained physical injuries that weren't as serious was purely by chance, rather than by design."
He was seen by witnesses walking "calmly", at times "muttering" to himself, and also "smirking".
At one stage CCTV of his spree drew a shocked gasp from the packed public gallery in court, as he knifed an unsuspecting woman in the face as she sat looking at her mobile phone.
'FACE TO FACE WITH EVIL'
After attacking his first three victims, he disposed of the serrated knife, taking a cab home to pick up another 20cm kitchen knife, before returning to the city centre.
Mr Khalil said McLeod, who would self-medicate with illicit drugs, had "never before received sustained, effective treatment due to a number of identified reasons including his own lifestyle".
The court heard how on his release from prison, mental health services struggled to trace him, with a psychiatrist giving evidence they were "not informed of his whereabouts".
It was only when they received a referral from McLeod's GP that mental health workers were able to track him down.
During a home visit on September 3, McLeod spoke on the phone to a psychiatrist, telling them he could hear voices, saying there were "there all the time and can be distressing".
Jacob's younger sister Abbie Billington said in her statement: "How has a man so unstable, in a mental health crisis, been able to go along the streets with a weapon?
"How has this unstable man been let loose, attacking however many people he did, changing so many lives, changing Michael's life, all the others', and killing Jacob?"
'DANGEROUS'
The university worker's father, Keith Billington, spoke of his son's "humour" and "charm", of holding his hand on the first day of school, and watching Everton play football together.
He said his son had come "face-to-face with evil" when Jacob and his friends "were just going back to their hotel".
Mr Billington added: "McLeod brought terror to the streets of Birmingham but apparently is not a terrorist.
"What he is, we'll never know, as he hides behind his defence team, hell-bent on portraying himself as a victim of the system.
"This man has no place in society, he is clearly one of the most dangerous people to have walked the streets of this city.
"I look forward to the courts passing a very long sentence for McLeod."
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The hearing continues at Birmingham Crown Court today.
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