Terrorist given whole life order for stabbing three men in Reading park
The terrorist who ‘executed’ three men in a ‘swift, ruthless and brutal’ knife attack in a Reading park has been given a whole life sentence.
Khairi Saadallah, 26, shouted ‘Allahu akhbar’ as he fatally stabbed friends James Furlong, 36, David Wails, 49, and Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, during a rampage lasting less than a minute on June 20 last year.
Three other people – Stephen Young, Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan – were also injured before Saadallah threw away the knife and ran off, pursued by an off-duty police officer.
As he was detained, a Muslim member of the public told him: ‘You have nothing to do with Islam, bastard,’ adding: ‘I am just livid.’
The failed Libyan asylum seeker launched the rampage in Forbury Gardens, Reading, as the victims were enjoying a summer evening after the first lockdown restrictions in England were relaxed.
Saadallah, of Reading, admitted murder and attempted murder but submitted a basis of plea, denying he had been motivated by extremist beliefs or put significant planning into the attack.
But after a two-day hearing held to determine the facts, his claims were rejected by Mr Justice Sweeney today, who ruled he had been ‘advancing’ his terrorist cause.
The judge said Saadallah’s attack ‘was so swift, ruthless and brutal that none of them had any chance to react, let alone to defend themselves’, adding: ‘Using his combat experience in each of their cases the defendant targeted a vulnerable area where a single thrust of the knife would, as he intended, inevitably cause death.’
He went on: ‘During the course of the attack and afterwards and because he was seeking to advance a political, religious or ideological cause, the defendant was shouting in Arabic, “God is the greatest” and “God accept my jihad”.’
Mr Justice Sweeney rejected the argument that Saadallah was suffering a mental illness at the time of the killings.
Saadallah, wearing a grey jacket over a sweater and a red and white hat, showed no emotion as he was sentenced.
The judge said he had ‘no doubt that this is a rare and exceptional case in which just punishment requires you must be kept in prison for the rest of your life’.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said Saadallah wanted to kill as many people as possible in the name of violent jihad.
She told the court: ‘In just half a minute, the defendant was able to inflict catastrophic injuries to three people and serious injuries to three others.
‘The prosecution’s case was that this was not an accident. This was not a frenzied attack by someone wielding a knife in a random, uncontrolled manner.
‘The defendant was aiming to inflict the maximum amount of damage in the shortest possible time to allow him to kill as many people as possible.
‘In effect, the killings of Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, David Wails and James Furlong were highly effective executions.’
Ms Morgan said Saadallah was ‘ruthlessly efficient’ in his actions, having planned and carried out the attack with ‘determination and precision’.
The court heard Saadallah served as a ‘proud’ soldier of Libyan terror cult Ansar Al Sharia during the country’s civil war before fleeing Tripoli for the UK in 2012.
Since arriving in Britain, he had been convicted of various offences including theft and assault.
During his time at HMP Bullingdon, he sought out the company of prominent radical preacher Omar Brooks, who is associated with the banned terrorist organisation Al-Muhajiroun.
Saadallah was released from HMP Bullingdon on June 5 last year.
He set about researching the location for his attack, carrying out reconnaissance, and bought a knife at Morrisons supermarket.
He had contact with his probation officer and was visited by police on June 19 over concern for his mental state.
However, a psychiatrist had since concluded that the events of June 20 were ‘unrelated to the effects of either mental disorder or substance misuse’.
Mr Furlong was described as ‘a remarkable person, an unfailingly kind and compassionate man’ in a victim impact statement by his family.
Mr Ritchie-Bennett’s mother Charlene said: ‘Everyone loved Joe and he always included everyone in his life. He cared deeply for family, friends and co-workers.
‘He always saw the good in people and accepted them as we accepted him.’
Joan Wails, the mother of Mr Wails, said: ‘There was no sense in David’s death, it was cruel, inhumane and cowardly. The pain I feel in my heart is unbearable.
‘What this person did to David and his two friends is monstrous. That’s what my family and I refer to him as, a monster.’
Defending, Rossano Scamardella QC argued against a whole life order due to a lack ‘significant planning or premeditation’.
Following sentencing, Thames Valley Police Detective Chief Superintendent Kath Barnes, head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East, said: ‘Saadallah is a committed jihadist and was intent on killing as many people as he could on that sunny summer’s evening in June.
‘As the evidence has shown, Saadallah planned this attack in meticulous detail. The men he killed were not just murdered, they were executed at such a speed, they had very little chance to react or defend themselves.
‘The horrors of this incident took just a single minute to unfold. It took him less than 10 seconds to kill three innocent men, and he then went on to attack and tried to kill another three men before running off towards the town centre.
‘In that tiny timeframe, he changed the lives of all those involved forever.
‘He has caused unspeakable hurt and distress to the families of the three men who were brutally murdered as they were relaxing and enjoying socialising with friends on a Saturday evening.
‘I’m sure there will also be lasting effects on those who were injured in the attack, who were fortunate not to have been even more seriously harmed.’
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