Posted on 03/15/2005 2:45:43 AM PST by Humblebum
Beheading' horror in street
By Richard Edwards and Chris Millar, Evening Standard 14 March 2005
A man was beheaded in a frenzied and prolonged axe attack in a London street today.
The axeman, smartly-dressed and in his thirties, felled his victim with one blow and then struck repeatedly "as if he was chopping wood".
The assault lasted several minutes near the Hampstead Theatre in Belsize Park. The attacker ignored his victim's screams and the pleas of two women passers-by and workmen. He stopped when police arrived. He then put down the axe near the body. He was described as looking "emotionless and cool" throughout.
When asked why he had done it, he told officers: "It's complicated. It's private."
Mothers on the morning school run were among those who saw the killing in Eton Avenue.
Police said the victim was in his sixties and is thought to have lived nearby.
Officers do not think it was a random attack and understand that the men knew each other.
A neighbour said there had been a series of domestic rows at a nearby address.
A scaffolder working nearby saw a man carrying an axe in one hand above his head as he ran towards his victim. The men were seen to exchange a few words.
Seconds later the axeman struck the first of a series of heavy blows which continued when the victim lay slumped on the pavement in a pool of blood.
The workman said: "It was unremitting. The man with the axe ran at his victim and just laid into him.
"He brought it down on his head and floored him. The victim had tried to defend himself with his arms and I heard him shout something. But it was hopeless.
"Within seconds he was on the floor and his head had been split open. There was blood pouring from his head and spilling onto the pavement. It was horrific."
Avelina Rodrigues, 48, said the attacker ignored her pleas to stop as he brought blow after blow down upon his victim, leaving the body badly mutilated.
She said: "I heard the first thuds of the axe as it hit the man's head. I thought it was the sound of a child being hit by a car.
"I ran to the front of the house and could see a man, smartly dressed, tall and thin, with the axe in his hand.
"The axeman saw me but he just ignored me. He hacked his victim's head, cutting it as if it was a block of wood for a fire. His victim was unconscious on the ground, but he kept bringing his axe down on him.
"I begged him to stop and he just looked at me without emotion. There was no anger in his face, he did not seem crazy. He was just coolly finishing off his victim. He wanted to destroy him. ."
Another woman passing in a car stopped and pleaded with the man to stop his attack. He also ignored pleas from builders working nearby. Police arrested a man at the scene and he is being held for questioning at Holborn police station.
Eton Avenue is known as one the most exclusive streets in north London with a host of multi-million-pound properties. Belsize Park is also the home to a host of celebrities, including Jude Law, his estranged wife, Sadie Frost, Gwyneth Paltrow and her rock star husband, Chris Martin.
Everybody's so much safer!
Yes.
The axeman would have probably shot him before chopping his head off if he'd had a gun.
Then maybe he could have whacked a few passers by and a couple of policemen before they finally got him.
I'll bet you the Axeman is a cousin to the American Bordon family.
The gates of Hell have been opened, and the demons are everywhere. I wonder if this guy was a Muslim carrying out an honor killing or if he was just enforcing the Koran. You know, that peaceful religion!! < / sarcasm >
Nah.... only in New York, San Francisco or Boston.... or Atlanta.... where libs congregate like the nice little sheep they are......
On the other hand in public with an axe brutally beating somebody to death...would take about 20-30 seconds. Handgun wouldn't have prevented anything except if the victim had one.
But if the victim lived in Switzerland,Israel, Florida or Texas he just might have..... or he just may have laid down to take a nap and this Paul Bunyon wanna-be would have done this quietly at home.... you just never know.
At least the killer was smartly-dressed. Nobody likes a disheveled axe murderer.
Your tag line , LOL :)
Particularly in a nice neighborhood.
"We gotta use axes, 'cause you don't let us have guns."
BAN ALL EDGED & BLUNT WEAPONS! BAN FISTS & FEET! BAN HEADS!
That's the rest of the story, the axeman was just trying to make sure his victim wasn't equipped to butt some innocent person with his head!
BAN HEADS! NO IFS ANDS OR BUTTING!
Lizzie was found not guilty, and the literature I have looking in to the case agree with the jury.
This story reiterates one of the key tenets of my life,
Do not piss off crazy people, especially if they have access to Axes.
Do I need to remind you about the American child who shot his brother yesterday? With his mothers gun? You're choosing a poor moment to criticise British gun-control.
"It's complicated. It's private." Love or money is my guess.
'"It's complicated. It's private." Love or money is my guess.'
I agree...either a gay affair gone bad, a extramarital affair, or a business partnership/money issue made this guy snap. Funny how they haven't published the perp's name. I'm dying to know.
Instead we have this:
The axeman, smartly-dressed and in his thirties
I saw the axeman drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's. His hair was perfect.
Brave women trying to talk the murderer into stopping, but it easier to persuade someone with words and a gun, than with words alone.
Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer Came down upon his head Bang, bang, Maxwell's silver hammer Made sure that he was dead ...
Must have been REALLY ticked off at the guy.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.