Man who stamped on mum-of-two’s head in random fatal attack jailed for 21 years

A drug dealer who stamped, kicked and punched a passer-by to death in a random attack after his car overturned has been jailed for 21 years.

Chukwuemeka Ahanonu, 24, attacked 56-year-old mum Nila Patel after she got off the bus while talking on the phone with her friend on June 24.

The drug dealer had only just escaped injury after overturning his car near Leivester Royal Infirmary, but then grabbed his victim from behind and punched her in the face with such force she fell to the floor.

He proceeded to stomp on and kick her with such viciousness Nila, who was only 5 ft 4 inches tall, suffered brain damage and died two days later.

Judge Timothy Spencer KC said: ‘You murdered a wholly innocent woman. It was shocking, brutal and merciless.

‘You were angry, you were looking for a victim. You selected her, in my judgment, because of three things.

‘One was her gender, a woman – you would not have attacked a man. The second was her build and her height – 5ft 4ins tall and of slight build. She was vulnerable.

‘The third thing, I’m satisfied, was her race. In an unguarded moment, you talked about “dirty Asians”.’

Her children, Jaidan and Danika Patel, said she was ‘a loving mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, and the heart of our family’.

They said: ‘Mum still had so much life ahead of her. She should have had the chance to grow old, to enjoy retirement, to become a grandmother and to celebrate many more milestones with her family.

‘All of those moments have now been taken away from her, and from us.’

Danika, who was 21 at the time of the attack, said she ‘will never be able to make sense of’ the ‘cruelty and randomness’ of it.

She added: ‘My mum was the most important person in my life.

‘Losing her in such a violent and senseless way has shattered my world.’

Prosecutor Mary Prior KC said: ‘She (Nila) had just got off the bus on her way home and was walking along the road, talking on the telephone to her dear friend.

‘She was pulled from behind by the defendant, punched in the face with such severity that she fell onto the pavement. She was then kicked and stamped on as she lay on the floor… stamped on her face.’

By the time of the fatal attack, which a doctor at the scene said had caused ‘catastrophic’ wounds, Ahanonu had lost his sliders and only had socks on his feet.

Ahanonu, originally from Peckham in south-east London, had been released from prison on licence a year before the attack, having been found with a machete and £1,000 in cash in 2023.

Hours after the murder, Ahanonu was tested for THC, which is produced by cannabis use. He had a level of 7.6mcg was found, above the limit of 2mcg.

He denied murder but pleaded guilty to her manslaughter, claiming diminished responsibility, insisting he ‘couldn’t remember any of it’.

Leicestershire Police released video of interviews conducted with Ahanonu in which he was shown CCTV footage of his dangerous driving and part of the fatal assault.

Footage of him being tackled to the ground and hospital security staff running towards the scene of the assault in an effort to intervene was also issued by the force.

During the police interviews, the killer said about his driving: ‘I don’t remember even doing this… I can’t remember anything, do you understand?’

He was also seen holding his head in his hands after he told interviewing officers: ‘Oh my lord – I don’t remember killing anyone.’

He was found guilty of murder at Leicester Crown Court on Monday by jurors after a month-long trial.

Alleging that the defendant had acted as he did because he had taken a lot of cannabis, Ms Prior said: ‘The voluntary consumption of a substance which causes you to act in a way that you would not act when sober is not a defence to murder because an intoxicated intent is still an intent.’

At the start of the trial, Ahanonu pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, possession with intent to supply class B drugs, and assault of an emergency worker after he bit a female officer following his arrest.

Detective Inspector Emma Matts, of Leicestershire Police, said: ‘Ahanonu was unknown to Ms Patel. After crashing his vehicle, he ran from the scene violently attacking Ms Patel.

‘This was the most horrific, violent and random attack by a stranger on a kind, gentle and loving woman who was simply making her way home.

‘It is hard to imagine what Ms Patel went through in those moments. My thoughts continue to remain with her and with her family and friends who have suffered and continue to suffer the most horrendous distress and pain.’

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