Killer gouged out 87-year-old man’s eye and beat him to death with his own walking stick in ‘brutal’ random attack

A KILLER gouged out an 87-year-old man's eye and beat him to death with his own walking stick in a “brutal” random attack.

Sekai Miles, 23, hit Bernard Fowler 19 times with the cane after ambushing him as he walked to buy a newspaper.

He also stamped on the pensioner's head before standing over him in a “triumphant stance”.

Miles has now been handed an indefinite hospital order after admitting manslaughter by diminished responsibility and assaulting a officer.

The Old Bailey was told Miles had paranoid schizophrenia and had taken drug spice in the past.

Miles stopped taking his medication after declaring that he had been “saved by god”.

The heard Miles had travelled from Liverpool Street to Harold Wood Station in East on February 27 last year.

When Miles was asked to leave the station by staff, he told them: “Touch me and I will kill you”.

He then tried to book a taxi to Brent Cross but when a cab driver arrived at the station to pick him up, they missed each other.

Miles then lunged at retired mechanic Bernard in a completely random attack as he walked to the shop.

Prosecutor Benjamin Aina KC said: “During the attack, the defendant gouges his eyes. He falls to the floor. The defendant then attacks him as he is lying helpless on the ground.

“He kicks Mr Fowler in the head, picks up his walking stick and then starts to hit him to the head with force. Mr Fowler is hit to the head 19 times.

“The defendant then stamps on Mr Fowler's head eight times. The attack is truly shocking and appalling.”

When police arrived, Miles ran off holding the bloody stick in one hand and his trainers in the other.

He was eventually arrested after a struggle that saw a police officer assaulted.

Cops searched his rucksack and found a large number of religious leaflets that asked: “Are you saved? If you died today: Heaven or Hell?”

There was also a Bible with text highlighted with the green highlighter pen.

One passage referred to sight being lost and restored in a chilling echo of the attack on Bernard.

The court heard Miles had a background of abuse and trauma in his home life, problems with his mental from the age of 10 and reported hearing voices at the age of 12.

He was admitted to hospital in January 2023 after a member of the public became concerned for his welfare.

His mum also raised concerns that he was having “delusions about religion“.

His barrister Brenda Campbell KC suggested there were “missed opportunities” for medical professionals to spot the warning signs that Miles was unwell.

In victim impact statements, Bernard was described by his family as a kind and caring man with a raw sense of humour.

His son Darrin Fowler said: “He was a loving, thoughtful, supportive father and grandfather.

“My father had a huge heart and showed care and compassion for others.

“It does not feel real and I cannot process my father is gone. My father was my wingman and confidante.

“I feel angry at the way my father was so brutally taken.”

The court was told Miles was likely to spend years in hospital before he is well enough to be released back into the community.