A young mother whose husband was brutally stabbed to death by a mentally ill man who had walked free from a court days earlier has demanded authorities are held to account. Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, was stabbed to death by Femi Nandap last December as he left his flat in Islington, north London, to post cards announcing the birth of his daughter Fleur. It later emerged that Nandap, a Nigerian student whose visa had expired, had knife and assault charges against him dropped six days earlier. Today, Dr Ensick’s widow Nadja Ensink-Teich called for an inquiry into how her husband’s killer was free to launch the horrific knife attack.
She said: ‘My life stopped on 29 December – it’s only by looking at Fleur that I know that time is passing. I used to be an independent, positive person but now I’m fearful.’ The widow asked how it could be that a mentally ill man allegedly found with a knife could be free to walk the streets, adding: ‘Will those who made the decision in some way be held accountable?’ She had told the court: ‘Not only was the love of my life taken from me, but with him also all of our hopes and dreams.’ She was speaking after Nandap, 23, was handed an indefinite hospital order for the killing. He will face deportation back to Nigeria after completing his sentence.
Describing the attack, prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said the victim shouted for help and said ‘no, not a knife’. Nandap stabbed Dr Ensink repeatedly in the chest and back until an off duty special constable intervened. The defendant told psychiatrists that he started to receive telepathic messages and considered himself the ‘chosen one’ or ‘Messiah’ in spring last year. Just six days before he attacked Dr Ensink, Nandap had charges of possession of a knife and assaulting a police officer dropped at a magistrates’ court. Mrs Ensink-Teich went to the Old Bailey with her baby daughter to see Nandap sentenced for killing her ‘soul mate’. Reading her victim impact statement in court, she said the circumstances surrounding the death of her husband were not a ‘one off’.
She said: ‘This is a terrible tragedy for me and for Jeroen’s daughter, and family and friends but it is not a one off; mental health homicides keep happening again and again. ‘If such tragedies keep occurring, why has there not been concerted action to address this? ‘If a person with a history of mental health problems is found wandering about with a knife, and attacks a police officer, then that person must be referred to a secure unit for proper assessment and treatment and not given bail so easily. ‘This represents a failure of the health and judicial system that should protect the public and care for those with severe mental illness.’
An inquiry should look into how Nandap was granted bail after being charged with assaulting an officer and wielding knifes in public and why he was free on the day of the killing, she told the court. Mrs Ensink-Teich said an inquiry should examine why the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the earlier charges and deal with whether the person responsible for the decision will be held accountable. Ms Ensink-Teich went on: ‘This may help others from being in the same position my daughter and I now find ourselves in. I hope that our case highlights the necessity to bring about the required changes to existing laws. Lessons will not have been learned until concrete changes in legislation will be implemented.’
At an earlier hearing, Nandap, of Woolwich, south-east London, admitted the manslaughter of Dr Ensink by reason of diminished responsibility via video link from Broadmoor hospital. Dr Samrat Sengupta, from Broadmoor hospital, told the court that smoking cannabis had triggered a genetic psychotic illness. Dr Ensink, originally from the Netherlands, worked at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He was a renowned water engineer and a dedicated humanitarian who was committed to improving access to water and sanitation in deprived countries. Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC said the victim, Dr Ensink, was on any view a ‘truly remarkable’ man.
Dr Ensink’s manager Sandy Cairncross said: ‘He was killed in his prime and just as he was getting his own research projects under way, with potential benefits to millions of people.’ Nandap had being caught in May last year and allegedly in possession of two kitchen knives and assaulting a police officer, who he punched and bit on the thumb. He had studied at London’s SOAS, formerly the School of Oriental and African Studies, in the years before the killing, but his student visa had expired. While on conditional bail he went to Nigeria where he was treated for mental illness but he stopped taking anti-psychotic drugs by his return to the UK in October. On August 25, his sister had handed a letter to police explaining he was not fit to travel back to the UK earlier because he was suffering ‘depression and psychosis’.
The case was dropped on December 23, just six days before Dr Ensink was brutally stabbed, because the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) claimed they did not have enough evidence to prosecute. Speaking outside the Old Bailey, Nadja Ensink-Teich asked: ‘Why was this individual bailed after assaulting a police officer and carrying a knife in public? How could this individual who is mentally unwell and and armed with knives have been at liberty on the day he killed my husband? Why on the 23 December did the CPS drop the knife possession and assault charges against this individual just six days before he killed my Jeroen?’
Julian Hendy, of campaigning charity Hundred Families, echoed the call for an inquiry. He said: ‘We are calling for an independent investigation into why a seriously unwell man, with a history of violence with knives, was at liberty that day. We want to know from all the agencies involved whether this terrible crime could have been prevented. ‘Dr Ensink was just one of the more than hundred victims of mental health homicides in Britain each year, and our research shows the numbers are increasing. We are deeply concerned that seriously unwell people are not getting the diagnosis and treatment they need, which is leading to more and more tragedies like this.’
A CPS spokesperson said: ‘The case against Timchang (Femi) Nandap was discontinued on 23 December following a review that determined there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction. Even if the case had proceeded, the bail conditions he was subject to until his trial would not have prevented him being at the location of the attack on Mr Ensink on 29 December. In reviewing our handling of cases we always ensure that any lessons which may be learned, are learned, and we have endeavoured to keep Mr Ensink’s family informed throughout.’
Source: DAILY MAIL
Photo Credit: Femi Nandap{PA} ; Dr. Ensink {James Turner SWNS}
