A PSYCHOTIC murderer "sought to hide behind his mental disorder" after a revenge attack, according to a judge in a murder trial.
Sheryar Khan, 17, of Yew Tree Avenue, was found guilty of the murder of 19-year-old Kian Tordoff at Bradford Crown Court (BCC) yesterday after a six-week trial.
He was also found guilty of the wounding with intent of Matthew Page, known as Matthew Lowther, who suffered a life-threatening stab wound to his right-upper chest and a superficial slash wound to the stomach.
Both were unanimous decisions.
Arbaz Khan, 22, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar’s older brother, and Mohammed Adil Hussain, 18, of Kite Mews in the Lower Grange area, Arbaz's friend, were both found guilty of the manslaughter of Kian Tordoff and guilty of the unlawful wounding of Matthew Lowther.
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Aizaz Khan, 27, of Yew Tree Avenue, Sheryar and Arbaz’s older brother, Amaad Shakiel, 20, of Leaventhorpe Lane and Adam Qayum, 23, of Avenel Road, Allerton were acquitted of murder and attempted murder.
Mr Tordoff died on John Street on October 10 last year after being stabbed multiple times.
Three young females tried to help Mr Tordoff – who was bleeding from his neck and back - and he told them “tell my mum I love her” as he died in their arms.
He was officially pronounced dead at 6.40am.
Pathologist, Dr Kirsten Hope, said an 11cm deep stab wound to Mr Tordoff’s upper-left back was the cause of death, as it penetrated the lower part of his lung and the aorta – the main blood vessel in the body.
He also suffered a stab wound to the neck, front of his torso, left hip and a zig-zag stab wound to his right hand, where a knife went right through, which was indicative of him protecting himself.
These injuries all led to significant blood loss.
Sheryar Khan – who the Telegraph & Argus can now identify after it successfully applied for a Section 45 reporting restriction to be removed and a picture has now been released of him - admitted to stabbing Mr Tordoff six times and was wielding a machete and knife.
He also admitted to inflicting the life-threatening wound on Mr Lowther.
But at the start of the trial he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, rather than murder, on grounds of “diminished responsibility”.
This was on account of his mental health at the time, claiming he was hearing the voice of a London man who would make him do negative things – he said it told him to “do it, f**king do it” moments before the stabbing.
Sheryar Khan also claimed it was the voice that made him take a kitchen knife out from his home in the first place.
Two psychiatrists – one for the prosecution and one for the defence – agreed the teenager suffered from psychosis but the jury have decided this did not contribute significantly to the killing.
His Honour Judge Richard Mansell QC feels Sheryar Khan actually used his condition as a tactic to try sway the jury.
Speaking about removing the reporting restriction yesterday in court and weighing up the welfare of the murderer in making his decision, Judge Mansell said:
He said: "I have taken into account the fact that he has a mental disorder, but in my view, the defendant sought to hide behind his mental disorder in this trial and was not being truthful when he told psychiatrists that voices in his head commanded him to take up a knife before leaving his home, and then commanded him to stab Kian Tordoff moments before he did so."
The judge also deemed the stabbings to be revenge attack that was pre-meditated.
He said: "His actions in taking up not only a kitchen knife but a machete in a sheath, coupled with the actions of his brother Arbaz in arming himself with a machete, demonstrate pre-meditation and an intention to seek revenge on behalf of a family member.
"His actions were purposeful, in that he chased the first person he saw when he alighted from the BMW, caught him up and when he fell to the floor, he used both weapons to inflict six stab wounds in rapid succession.
"He then ran back towards where he had alighted the BMW but saw Matthew Page in the road and deliberately changed direction and stabbed him with the knife in the chest and slashed his stomach with the machete as part of the same action.
"His actions after the event in disposing of both weapons in or near to Lister Park, as his brother did, were equally purposeful and controlled and not influenced to any significant degree by his mental disorder."
Sheryar Khan, Arbaz Khan and Hussain will be sentenced tomorrow.
Aizaz Khan and Qayum have been released, while Shakiel has been remanded unconditional on bail other matters.
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