Man admits attempted axe murder in Finsbury Park
A crazed axeman left another man permanently disabled when he attacked him with a 10cm blade, the Old Bailey heard.
Thomas O’Connell, 25, attacked Marcin Dzioba from behind as he sat on a bench in Finsbury Park, hitting him at least three times over the head with such ferocity they shattered the victim’s skull and exposed his brain.
Mr Dzioba, 26, was attacked without warning on December 28 last year. He had entered the park shortly before 9.25pm, but was found two hours later near an entrance by a passer-by.
Prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC said: “While he was by the body of Marcin Dzioba he looked up in to the mist and out of the mist he saw a figure, which was this defendant. He plainly had an axe in his hand.
“The defendant said: ‘Run boy or I am going to get you like I got him. Get the f*** out the place.’”
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O’Connell, who has a history of convictions for minor violence, disappeared before police arrived but was spotted by officers shortly after 2am within the cordon around the scene, still clutching the weapon.
Police found his blood-spattered clothes in a search of his home in Green Lanes, Manor House.
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O’Connell admitted attempted murder on Tuesday (June 28) moments before his trial was due to start.
Mr Bennetts said Mr Dzioba had suffered “devastating” injuries, adding: “It is perhaps luck that he did not die. A young man of 26 has been left with a disability and he now resides in a home where he is cared for. He remembers nothing of the events that night which left him disabled.”
Mr Dzioba sat in court with his mother for the hearing, which was told O’Connell has a history of mental health problems and at the time of the attack was on bail for threatening to kill members of his family.
Judge Timothy Pontius QC adjourned sentencing until July 19 for psychiatric assessments, and remanded O’Connell in custody.
