Stabbing of Colin Hammond witnessed by Jack Whitehall's girlfriend

The man who killed Colin Hammond in outside Putney Bridge station 2012 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter at the Old Bailey this week.

30-year-old Frederic Andre Russell admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and is to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

Mr Hammond, aged 65, was stabbed on 25 October 2012 by Russell who was a complete stranger to him.


Frederic Andre Russell

The attack was witnessed by passersby around tube station including Gemma Chan, the girlfriend of Putney born comedian Jack Whitehall. Ms Chan gave evidence at previous hearing of the case in 2013. She described seeing a young man with a goatee beards in a struggle with an older man and then realising the younger man had a knife. The younger man was kneeling on top of his victim gripping him by the neck and telling him he didn’t have any money. She noticed that he had his right hand pressed to the neck of Mr. Hammond. When he pulled his hand away Ms. Chan saw he was holding a knife.


Gemma Chan

After the attacker moved away, Ms Chan crossed the road to see if she could help the victim. She heard him groaning and holding the left side of his neck and asked him if he was okay. At this point the attacker reappeared and looked directly at Ms Chan. She told the court, 'We stared at each other for about three seconds and then the road started to fill with people as a train had arrived at the tube station.' Ms Chan called for an ambulance and tried to take a picture of Russell. She stayed with Mr. Hammond after a doctor arrived on the scene and CPR was administered but he later died.

Yesterday (4th May), 30-year-old Frederic Andre Russell admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility and is to be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act. Mr. Russell had previously been deemed unfit to plead having been repeatedly committed to mental asylums in France. He had also stabbed his father, who he claimed had sexually abused him. His father had died earlier in the month of Colin Hammond's death and Mr. Russell had tried to prise open his coffin at the funeral. Despite his family’s attempts to detain him he ran away to England.

Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Piscopo of the Homicide and Major Crime Command said: "It is still not clear what triggered Russell's attack on Colin Hammond. What is clear is that this was a violent attack carried out by Russell in broad daylight which resulted in the death of an innocent man."

May 6, 2016