Kind dad offered to help next-door neighbour and decorate his house - in exchange he was brutally killed
24.11.2023 - 16:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A kind dad had offered to help his neighbour decorate his house before he was brutally killed by him. Tarik Hussein lived next door to 56-year-old Esmaeil Tofigh in Longsight.
The pair had 'little interaction' but Mr Tofigh had offered to assist 28-year-old Hussein, who was 'de facto' carer for his mother and brother, including by decorating his house. But Hussein, who was suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia, harboured delusional beliefs about his neighbour and went round to Mr Tofigh's house where he bludgeoned him to death with a hammer.
He was convinced that dad-of-two Mr Tofigh had been watching him and listening to him through the walls, Manchester Crown Court heard. Now Hussein has been detained in hospital to receive treatment.
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Mr Tofigh, who had moved to the UK from his native Iran in the 2000s, was described as an 'amazing father' whose children were 'central' to his life. He married in this country but later separated, and had been working in a shop.
Mr Tofigh was involved in his local community and was 'widely respected', the court heard. "The court extends its sincere condolences," Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said, addressing Mr Tofigh's family.
"Nothing can be said nor any sentence passed that will diminish their loss or remove the pain of grief." Hussein 'knew something was wrong' with him but feared asking for help, the court was told.
"Unfortunately he didn't know what was wrong with him at all, that is normal in developing psychosis," Dr Lucy Bacon, a consultant forensic psychiatrist, told the court. "He had a real worry that if he told anyone that things weren't