Hackney murderer refuses to attend ‘stressful’ sentencing

roofer Liam Taylor stabbed Eilish Walsh More than 40 times at my Hackney apartment last December 15th.

In April, Taylor, 37, pleaded guilty to murder and had his sentence postponed while he prepared a report.

The 28-year-old Eilish’s family had traveled from Ireland to attend Taylor’s sentencing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, where he was present in the dock and on video link from Belmarsh Prison. I know it wasn’t.

KC Judge Nigel Rickley said in court: “We received a note from the prison stating that the defendant refused to attend because he was ‘sick and staying up all night.

Defense attorney Andrew Morris said his client felt “extremely stressed” and felt he could not come “mentally” because he would be happy to have the verdict rendered in his absence. .

Justice Rickley replied, “He must hear the evidence and he must hear the people.”

The judge acknowledged the inconvenience to Eilish’s family and said, “I’m sure they understand my point of view. Liam Taylor should have been here to be sentenced.” , everyone will suffer,” he said.

The judge suggested Taylor could be prescribed anxiety medication ahead of the next hearing.

A judge set a hearing for August 8 to hear evidence from pathologists about Eilish’s injury, and sentencing was postponed to August 24.

KC Attorney Jane Osborne previously said the attack was “extremely brutal and was carried out with the knowledge that Ms Walsh was pregnant with the defendant’s child”.

“We had scans from 12 weeks, and it would have been pretty obvious at 22 weeks.”

The problem of defendants refusing to attend sentencing hearings has surfaced in recent years following a series of high-profile cases.

In 2018, ‘Babes in the Woods’ killer Russell Bishop was jailed for at least 36 years at the Old Bailey for the murder of two Brighton girls in 1986, and will be 55 in January 2022. died in

In 2020, the brother of the Manchester Arena bomber, Hashem Abedi, was sentenced to life in prison for a minimum of 55 years for the murder of 22 people at the Old Bailey in absentia after refusing to leave his cell.

Last April, Kosi Seramaji was sentenced to life in absentia for the murder of elementary school teacher Sabina Nessa.

Judge Sweeney said Seramaghi’s refusal to sentence was “cowardly” but had no authority to enforce him, giving him a minimum sentence of 36 years in the Old Bailey trial.

Last May, Conservative MP James Wild suggested that felons were “again effectively abusing victims and families of victims”, increasing custodial sentences if a judge did not appear. asked for permission to do so.

Report from PA.