Man accused of killing Wolverhampton sex worker 'had schizophrenia for years before attack'
A man accused of murdering a woman in a Wolverhampton red light area was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after his arrest.
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On Tuesday (January 20), Wolverhampton Crown Court heard that Rahul Sharma showed evidence of having the mental health condition for a number of years.
The 31-year-old man, of Hordern Road, stands accused of raping and murdering sex worker Helen Kempster who died after being punched and kicked in Kingsland Road in Whitmore Reans in the early hours of June 16, 2022.
Defence barrister Miss Siobhan Grey KC told the court that medical and assessment reports dating to 2008 when he was aged 15, made references to Sharma being "odd" in behaviour, "lacking" in understanding of consequences, of being "angry" and "breaking things".
Giving evidence, defence expert witness consultant psychiatrist Panchu Xavier said: "My view was that he was suffering from schizophrenia on the basis of symptoms that he described and what we observed including observations we'd done without him knowing he was being observed.
