A man who raped and attacked a stranger before stabbing his former girlfriend 16 times told psychiatrists he had been hearing the evil voice of ‘Tommy’ since the age of 15, a court heard.
Marvin Samuels, 31, of Conduit Way, Stonebridge, claimed he was ordered to attack both the 42-year-old lone dog walker and the mother of his child, Sharlana Diedrick, 32, a few hours later.
He dragged the dog walker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, into undergrowth before raping her. He also beat her with a branch then attempted to strangle her with her scarf. She was found the next morning by her husband, still confused and scared.
Samuels claimed he thought she was a spy because she was wearing a hat and glasses as she walked her chihuahua at the Welsh Harp Reservoir in Neasden, the Old Bailey heard on Monday, September 30.
He has admitted rape and causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to the 42-year-old dog walker, on September 29 last year. He denies the attempted murder of the dog walker and the murder of Miss Diedrick.
In an interview with forensic psychiatrist Dr Richard Taylor, Samuels said he had gone to the reservoir because he was feeling stressed.
Samuels and Miss Diedrick had had a ‘volatile’ relationship, according to prosecutor Duncan Atkinson.
Dr Taylor told the court: “He said he had a feeling that everyone was plotting something, he felt uneasy and was hearing voices telling him to do things. When people walked past, he felt people were plotting to kill him and voices were telling him to go and kill them.”
Later the same evening, Samuels visited Miss Diedrick in Watford and she drove him back to Stonebridge and parked just around the corner from his mother’s house, in Conduit Way.
The court heard he stabbed Ms Diedrick 16 times as she sat in the driver’s seat and later told police he would have carried on if he had not hurt his hand, Mr Atkinson told the jury.
“Neighbours reported that they heard screaming and a female shouting for help. They also said they saw a tall, black man leaning over the car and a female body slumped in the seat,” Mr Atkinson said.
“Moments after the stabbing Samuels sent his mother a text message with one kiss in it.”
Samuels handed himself into police a few hours later, at 3.30am, and accepted that he had carried out both attacks.
He told Dr Taylor he was ‘feeling anxious’ as he sat in the car with Ms Diedrick.
Dr Taylor added: “He explained he stabbed her and left her there to die. He said he was hearing voices, had been hearing them during the day.
“A few days earlier he had heard Tommy, an evil voice that he hears sometimes. He says he has had this voice since the age of 15.”
Jurors were also told that Samuels attacked a fellow inmate with a razor in Belmarsh prison before being transferred to Broadmoor Hospital for assessment, where he attacked another patient with a badminton racket.
Mr Atkinson told the jury they had to decide what Samuels’ mental state was at the time of both attacks.
The trial continues.
