A woman who killed a man after fleeing while on escorted leave from a psychiatric hospital had absconded 10 times in the previous eight months and was twice found with a knife, an inquest has heard.
Roger Leadbeater, 74, was stabbed and killed while walking his dog in Westfield, Sheffield, on 9 August 2023. He was a stranger to Emma Borowy, 32, who died in custody in December 2023 after being charged with his murder.
She was an inpatient on a mental health ward in Bolton from where she absconded on 7 August, before attacking Leadbeater two days later. She had previously absconded from the ward on 4 August and was found hiding in a bush in Sheffield.
An inquest into Leadbeater’s death heard that Borowy was first admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act in 2022 after she was arrested for stealing and killing goats from a local farm, which she claimed she had to do to “ensure her survival”.
Police also raised concerns over the state of her home, which they said was in a “very dishevelled state” with teddy bears floating in the bath and a shrine to unicorns.
She had been experiencing delusions and psychotic episodes since 2020 and was diagnosed with schizophrenia and autism. She reported that aliens were communicating with her, and that she believed in demons and witchcraft.
Dr Hayley Thomas, a consultant psychiatrist who managed Borowy’s care until shortly before the killing, said she had first gone absent without leave on 21 October 2022, when she smashed a window in her room.
Police found her six days later at Bolton train station in possession of a knife, which she claimed was for self-defence.
After Borowy absconded on 2 January 2023, police said they confiscated a Stanley knife from her. When they returned her to hospital 12 days later, they reported that she had described thoughts of killing others, referring to a “bloodbath”.
Over the following months, Borowy went absent without leave on a several occasions, sometimes by running away on escorted leave in the hospital grounds, and sometimes by a smashing window or jumping over a fence.
She also made number of unsuccessful attempts to leave, often by trying to take staff badges to open doors.
Thomas said all decisions to grant leave were “very clearly thought through” and were an important part of moving towards an eventual discharge for Borowy. “The hope at that time was that leave would reduce awol. We’ve got to forever remain hopeful, even when patients have been awol before,” she said. “You can’t punish patients for going awol.”
Giving evidence at Sheffield medico-legal centre, Thomas said that during her time in hospital, Borowy frequently refused to take anti-psychotic medication and “wasn’t accepting of her diagnosis”.
“We were struggling with a lady who did not want to conform to any of the ways were trying to work,” Thomas said, adding that the main risk from her going awol had been deemed to be to her own health. There was not considered to be a risk of violence in the community, despite evidence of her carrying weapons.
Leadbeater’s family described him as “a nice, hard-working guy” who was a valued member of the local community and drove a minibus transporting children with special needs to and from school.
“What he endured that night and how she killed him, that could have been prevented,” his niece Angela Hector said. “It was a domino effect among different services – if they’d have done this, if they’d have done that.”
Borowy “should never have been granted leave again on 7 August”, she said.
The inquest continues.
