The sister of a man who was stabbed to death in London’s Oxford Circus—by a mentally ill asylum seeker—is writing to a coroner to ask her to reconsider her decision not to conclude an inquest.
Steve Dempsey’s sister Kathleen told The Epoch Times: “We have received no justice from the state. No-one has said sorry or been held responsible for the fact that a very dangerous man was able to easily stab my brother in the middle of London’s most busy shopping street.”
On July 1, 2021 Mr. Dempsey, 60, was attacked from behind by Tedi Fanta Hagos—who was a complete stranger—and fatally wounded as he walked past the Microsoft store in central London before two skateboarders intervened, knocking Hagos unconscious.
Judge Michael Topolski said Fanta Hagos had launched a “random and wholly unprovoked attack” on Mr. Dempsey.
He added: “Had the attack not been brought to an end by the courageous actions of passers-by it is highly likely that it would have continued and potentially involved other innocent members of the public.”
The judge said at the time of the attack Fanta Hagos was “untreated, uncared for, and very dangerous.”
Coroner Says Inquest ‘Didn’t Need to be Resumed’
Coroner’s officer Julie Kidd told The Epoch Times, in an email: “The inquest into the death of Stephen Dempsey was closed in May 2023. As there was a full criminal trial the coroner was happy that the inquest didn’t need to be resumed.”Mr. Dempsey, a retired civil servant, had never married and had no children but he left behind his elderly mother and his sister, who remains incredulous the coroner has decided against concluding the inquest.
- Why had Fanta Hagos not been granted immediate asylum when he arrived in Britain in 2014, aged 17, and claimed to be a former child soldier?
- On what terms was he released from hospital in December 2020, two months after being sectioned under the Mental Health Act?
- What dealings did he have with the NHS during his time in Swansea and was he on medication at the time of the attack?
- Why he had gone to the Ethiopian embassy a few hours before he killed Mr. Dempsey?
- Why did the Met—including the then Commissioner Cressida Dick—infer Fanta Hagos was being investigated as a possible terrorist, rather than someone who was mentally ill?
She said: “My parents always paid taxes, owned their own house, worked hard and never made a fuss yet we are being treated worse than if we were criminals.”
‘Persecutory Delusions’
At the Old Bailey hearing in February, the court heard Dr. Ross Mirvis, a consultant forensic psychiatrist treating Fanta Hagos, reported he was suffering from, “persecutory delusions to the effect that white people and animals follow him and communicate with him and that he has been injected in the neck by the police.”Fanta Hagos first arrived in Britain in 2014 and initially spent time in Sussex and London, where he picked up several convictions for being drunk and disorderly ending, in 2016, with eight weeks in prison for assaulting a police officer.
He moved to Swansea in 2017 and picked up more minor criminal convictions and then in October 2020 he was sectioned after a “psychotic episode” in Newham, in east London.
The court was told he was released in December 2020 and made his way back to Wales but it was unclear whether the mental health authorities in Swansea were notified or offered him any treatment.
The court also heard a statement—read out by prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC—from Maria Nicholas, a volunteer at a drop-in centre at St. David’s Church in Swansea, who had tried to help Fanta Hagos when he arrived in the city.
She said: “He said he had arrived in the country in August 2014 and it took five years for his application for asylum to be granted ... He is unable to read or write and has had no formal education. He has never had a job.”
Ms. Nicholas said Fanta Hagos was homeless for a while, before he was given accommodation—a one-bedroom flat—by the council in the Ravenhill district of Swansea.
Defence counsel, Patrick Upward, KC, told the court both of Fanta Hagos’s parents had died when he was a child and he was then conscripted into the Eritrean army at the age of 12.
Mr. Upward said Fanta Hagos was shot and also tortured during his time in the army before he eventually deserted, spent time in Zimbabwe, before crossing the Sahara Desert and again being tortured while in Libya.
On June 18, 2021 Fanta Hagos was arrested in possession of a saw in Swansea and was released on police bail to attend the city’s magistrates on July 21, 2021.
But while on bail he killed Mr. Dempsey on July 1, 2021 and was taken into custody in London.
Mrs. Dempsey said the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority had only paid out the minimum payment—£10,000—for the death of her brother, despite him being a carer for his mother.
‘Asylum Seekers Have Often Suffered Traumatic Experiences’
Mr. Hendy said: “It’s well known that asylum seekers have suffered traumatic experiences and have needs which are not always well addressed in this country.”“The mental health services in Wales need to be more transparent and accountable for their action because people are losing their lives,” he added.
Rob Styles, from Inquest, a charity which provides advice and support to victims of state-related deaths, told The Epoch Times: “Coroners’ decisions are not subject to a right of appeal, but can be challenged by way of a judicial review in the High Court if permission for a hearing is granted.”
“However, a judicial review is a complex and potentially very expensive area of law outside our remit and we would recommend that families seek expert legal advice before proceeding,” he added.
Mrs. Dempsey said she could not afford a judicial review but was hoping to persuade the coroner to change her mind.
A spokesperson for Swansea Bay University Health Board told The Epoch Times in an email: “Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to discuss individual cases without the patient’s consent. For this reason we are not able to confirm whether or not an individual has received care or been a patient with us.”
