Man beats 11-year-old great-niece to death with table leg after mistaking her ‘the devil’

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A mentally unstable man in the UK beat his 11-year-old great-niece to death last Feb. 9 using a broken table leg with screws sticking out after he had mistaken her for Satan in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom.

The suspect, Delroy Forrester, 51, was found by police officers straddling the victim, Jasmine Forrester after his mother, Victoria who was also injured, asked their neighbor’s help, as reported by The Guardian yesterday, Aug. 13. Jasmine was brought to the hospital; however, she passed away from head and neck injuries which include lacerations and bruises, reports Metro.

Hours before the attack, the suspect’s daughter, Tyler Forrester, called the Crisis at Penn Hospital for assistance but she was told he was “not deemed a risk.” Tyler replied, “You’d better make sure he doesn’t kill my nan tonight.”

Forrester was put on trial yesterday at Wolverhampton Crown Court for a murder charge. He admitted to killing his great-niece but he denied the murder charge on the basis that he was “legally insane” when the incident happened, the report stated.

The defense said Forrester attacked Jasmine because he thought she was Satan. The defense also substantiated their claim by citing that when Forrester was asked whether Jasmine was safe, he replied that the child wasn’t safe and that he was a bad man. Forrester also said to officers that “the devil had to die, I kill her blud” and “the devil is dead.”

Jonathan Rees, Queen’s Counsel, said that a mental health assessment was made by a community psychiatric nurse on Feb. 11 while Forrester was under police custody. It was revealed that Forrester exhibits psychosis — a symptom of serious mental illnesses marked by an impaired contact with reality, the report said.

Rees noted that Forrester said he was devastated with what happened as his great-niece was “pure and innocent.”

“His son, Myles, had tricked him into thinking that Jasmine was the devil, whereas, in fact, Myles was the devil,” said the prosecutor of Forrester’s claims.

Forrester added that he knew Myles was not his biological son — Myles was the devil that Forrester had to kill. Kate Matriano/NVG

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