Manslaughter plea accepted in dog walker Wayne Broadhurst killing

A man has admitted killing his dog walker in West London in what prosecutors described as a “violent spree”.

Dawood Safi, 28, fatally stabbed 49-year-old Wayne Broadhurst on October 27, 2025. He had attacked homeowner Shahzad Farrukh, 45, and a teenage boy at Midhurst Gardens in Uxbridge earlier the same day.

Safi pleaded guilty to the premeditated murder of Broadhurst on the grounds that his responsibility was diminished due to his psychotic state, which was accepted by the prosecution.

He will stand trial before a jury at Southwark Crown Court on charges of attempting to murder Farrukh and the 14-year-old boy.

Jonathan Laidlaw KC, for the prosecution, told the court that four mental health experts concluded Safi suffered a “complete mental breakdown” at the time of the incident.

Psychiatrists described him as neurotic, prone to rumination and worry, and said he developed a “rigid sense of right and wrong.”

Laidlaw said: “He was in a psychotic state and had lost touch with reality. He could not distinguish what was real and what was not. He was hearing voices and had delusional beliefs.”

At an earlier hearing, Safi also pleaded guilty to the lesser charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm against Farrukh and causing actual bodily harm in relation to the child.

Today the court heard a witness described Safi as “possessed” before he attacked and killed Broadhurst, whom he had never met before.

Broadhurst died after suffering multiple stab wounds to his neck, chest and side.

The prosecution accepted that Broadhurst’s family wanted Safi to be found guilty of murder.

The Home Office previously confirmed Safi entered the UK in a truck in 2020 and was granted asylum in 2022.

After the jury was sworn in, the prosecution told the court more about Safi’s past.

“He talked about his father being killed by the Taliban and about being threatened and harassed by the Taliban.”

“None of this was true,” Laidlaw said.

Prosecutors said Safi gave a false date of birth when he arrived in the country, making him now 23, but he was actually 28.

The trial continues.

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