Nicholas Salvador found not guilty after beheading woman

A 25-year-old man will be locked up indefinitely at Broadmoor Hospital after beheading Palmira Silva, an 82-year-old grandmother, in north London and brandishing her head at a police helicopter flying above.

Nicholas Salvador, who has paranoid schizophrenia, has been found not guilty of the 82-year-old woman's murder on the grounds of insanity.

A jury at the Old Bailey took just 40 minutes to return their verdict after hearing that the defendant believed he had been killing "Hitler back from the dead".

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The attack took place on 4 September last year in Edmonton, north London. Armed with a machete and a wooden pole, a bare-chested Salvador was caught on CCTV beheading Silva and two cats.

For 45 minutes, he "ran amok", tearing down fences and kicking down neighbours' doors, reports Sky News. He was finally Tasered six times during a violent struggle in a neighbour's house.

Two psychiatrists told the court he was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. He had become obsessed with "shape-shifters" and believed Silva was a supernatural being.

Prosecutor Jonathan Rees said it was a "deeply upsetting and horrific" incident. "Mrs Silva was not targeted because of who she was. She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

Defence lawyer Bernard Richmond said it was plain to see that Salvador was "somebody regarded as a decent man" when he was well and that "mental illness, in whatever circumstances, can be terrifying for the person".

Salvador will be held at Broadmoor, in Berkshire, for the rest of his life unless doctors and the Home Secretary allow him to be freed.

The victim's granddaughter Christina Silva said she continued to replay the attack every morning and had "completely changed" from the person she used to be before the killing. "The thought of being alone in the house terrifies me," she added.