Latest news with #EmiljanoKasaj
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
'Catching killer driver forced me to leave police'
A police officer forced to retire after breaking his ankle pursuing a man who had killed two people in hit-and-run crashes said it gives him solace knowing he stopped further deaths. Ex-West Midlands Police inspector Craig Hurst was injured vaulting a fence as he ran after Emiljano Kasaj, 34, who had crashed into and killed two pedestrians before driving into a cyclist and crashing into a house in Coventry. Kasaj admitted two counts of manslaughter and one of attempted murder, after the crashes in September 2023 while he was "suffering paranoid delusions", a psychiatrist told Warwick Crown Court. Mr Hurst, who retired on medical grounds, said "it was a great relief to get hands on with him". Kasaj was given a life sentence, with a minimum tariff of nine years, alongside a mental health order, at the court hearing on Monday. Mr Hurst, a father of four, acted after receiving a report of a collision in the city centre, where officers were administering CPR on two casualties. He then heard a report of a cyclist being knocked over and then saw another report of a car that had crashed into a house, before the offender fled. Suspecting it was the same involved in all the crashes, Mr Hurst went to the scene requesting other resources and began searching the streets to find Kasaj. A member of the public called police to say there was suspicious man in their garden and although one officer could see him, he was unable to reach him so Mr Hurst said he ran to the side of the property and found a locked gate. "I stepped up onto the gate and was able to jump down onto the other side so I was in the garden with this man," he said. "Unfortunately when I landed I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, I now know I'd broken my ankle at that point and I was able to hobble round to the garden where he was and detain him." He said it was very stressful as he knew people had died due to his actions so it was vital he was captured. "It was a great relief to get hands on with him considering how long we had been searching for him as well," he added. Kasaj, an Albanian migrant already on bail for alleged immigration offences, told officers at the police station that had he not been arrested he would have carried on killing people, Mr Hurst said. "I've now medically retired from the police due to my ankle injury but it gives me some solace that not only did we catch the killer but we also prevented further loss of life." He said he was now unable to run or cycle and has pain in his ankle and cannot play football or get involved in physical activities with his four young children. Kasaj was given a hybrid sentence - a hospital order alongside the prison term - meaning he will be detained in a health facility and only transferred to prison if deemed well enough. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Man sentenced over hit-and-runs that killed two HM Courts and Tribunals Service
BBC News
11 hours ago
- BBC News
Ex-Inspector Craig Hurst recalls catching Coventry killer driver
A police officer forced to retire after breaking his ankle pursuing a man who had killed two people in hit-and-run crashes said it gives him solace knowing he stopped further Midlands Police inspector Craig Hurst was injured vaulting a fence as he ran after Emiljano Kasaj, 34, who had crashed into and killed two pedestrians before driving into a cyclist and crashing into a house in admitted two counts of manslaughter and one of attempted murder, after the crashes in September 2023 while he was "suffering paranoid delusions", a psychiatrist told Warwick Crown Hurst, who retired on medical grounds, said "it was a great relief to get hands on with him". Kasaj was given a life sentence, with a minimum tariff of nine years, alongside a mental health order, at the court hearing on Monday. Street search Mr Hurst, a father of four, acted after receiving a report of a collision in the city centre, where officers were administering CPR on two then heard a report of a cyclist being knocked over and then saw another report of a car that had crashed into a house, before the offender it was the same involved in all the crashes, Mr Hurst went to the scene requesting other resources and began searching the streets to find Kasaj. A member of the public called police to say there was suspicious man in their garden and although one officer could see him, he was unable to reach him so Mr Hurst said he ran to the side of the property and found a locked gate."I stepped up onto the gate and was able to jump down onto the other side so I was in the garden with this man," he said."Unfortunately when I landed I felt a sharp pain in my ankle, I now know I'd broken my ankle at that point and I was able to hobble round to the garden where he was and detain him."He said it was very stressful as he knew people had died due to his actions so it was vital he was captured. "It was a great relief to get hands on with him considering how long we had been searching for him as well," he an Albanian migrant already on bail for alleged immigration offences, told officers at the police station that had he not been arrested he would have carried on killing people, Mr Hurst said."I've now medically retired from the police due to my ankle injury but it gives me some solace that not only did we catch the killer but we also prevented further loss of life."He said he was now unable to run or cycle and has pain in his ankle and cannot play football or get involved in physical activities with his four young was given a hybrid sentence - a hospital order alongside the prison term - meaning he will be detained in a health facility and only transferred to prison if deemed well enough. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Illegal Albanian migrant killed two people in car rampage including dad-of-two NHS worker while on bail from immigration detention centre
An Albanian national who drove at and killed a pedestrian and a cyclist in a 'killing spree' was in the country illegally, a court heard. Emiljano Kasaj, 34, ploughed into Leo Moran as he crossed the road before hitting Joel Carriedo as he rode home from a night shift in Coventry in September 2023. Kasaj then crashed into a house and fled the scene before being arrested in a garden - later telling a cell mate he would have killed more if it wasn't for a burst tyre. At his sentencing hearing on Monday, Warwick Crown Court heard Kasaj was on bail after being arrested for immigration offences at the time of the incident. But 'nothing was done' by the Home Office when he failed to attend appointments for almost a year beforehand. Mr Moran's mother said he had been 'let down' by the Home Office. Psychiatric evidence presented to the court showed that Kasaj suffered from 'a major mental illness, the most likely diagnosis being schizophrenia' which may have been aggravated by use of cannabis or cocaine in the weeks before the incident. At the time of the killings he believed he was a 'king' who was being blackmailed by political leaders in Albania, the court heard. Kasaj, who appeared in the dock alongside an interpreter and several mental health nurses, was sentenced to life imprisonment alongside a Mental Health Act order - meaning he will initially be detained in hospital. He had pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at an earlier hearing. The court was shown graphic CCTV footage of Mr Moran, 44, who died of a neck injury, being struck at 7.56am in Gosford Street, Coventry, while another passer-by was knocked into a building and suffered a head wound. Other footage showed the car driving off at speed with a smashed windscreen, and later travelling towards hospital worker Mr Carriedo, 47, a father-of-two. The NHS worker, whose bike was split in two by the impact, died of chest injuries after being struck head-on and knocked over a wall around seven minutes later in Woodway Lane, Coventry. The court heard Kasaj had used a false name and address to register the vehicle. Outlining the case against Kasaj, of no fixed address, prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said psychiatrists had diagnosed the defendant with paranoid psychosis linked to schizophrenia - with him telling experts he believed he had to kill because he was being blackmailed. Illegal Albanian migrant killed two people in car rampage including dad-of-two NHS worker while on bail from immigration detention centre The Crown's barrister said of the defendant: 'Born in July 1990, he is an Albanian national with no previous convictions or cautions. 'He told the defence psychiatrist that having left school he worked at a car wash and then travelled to Athens to find work. He came to the UK about two years prior to the offences and settled in Coventry.' The court heard that Kasaj also said 'he came to England for a better life' and was in 'in the UK illegally' but did not claim benefits. Mr Grieves-Smith told the court: 'The police made inquiries about his status. Checks with Albanian authorities show he left Albania in January 2022. 'He was arrested for immigration offences in August 2022 as he had made no attempts to register and he was detained in order to be removed. 'He said he had been trafficked into the country in the back of a lorry.' The court heard Kasaj was held at Harmondsworth Detention Centre in west London and attended a hospital during that period, although the visit was not related to his mental health. On October 7 2022, the court heard, Kasaj was bailed to an address in Newfield Road, Coventry, with 'a condition to sign on' at the Solihull Immigration Centre on December 5. Mr Grieves-Smith continued: 'He failed to appear for this and all other appointments. 'So at the time he committed these offences he was subject to bail conditions imposed because of his immigration status. He was in breach of them but nothing was done about it by the Home Office.' In a cell after his arrest, Kasaj had said the burst tyre had prevented him claiming more victims and said: 'I have killed two people today. I was going to be next. It was my turn to get slaughtered.' Passing sentence, Judge Mr Justice Choudhury told Kasaj: 'On September 3 2023 you decided to kill random members of the public by mowing them down in your car. 'In the space of a few minutes you killed two people and seriously injured a third. 'It is only because you crashed your car that mercifully there were no more victims.' Describing the events as a 'killing spree', the judge said of comments made by Kasaj after his arrest: 'You therefore admitted hitting the victims intentionally with the purpose of killing them.' Accepting that the explanation for Kasaj's actions lay in his mental health problems and the 'beliefs' he held, the judge told him: 'You clearly had what the law calls an abnormality of mental functioning.' Kasaj was sentenced to life with a minimum term of nine years and four months and also given an indefinite hybrid order under mental health laws meaning he will be detained in hospital 'for as long as is necessary' given his condition. In a victim impact statement to the court, Mr Moran's mother Teresa said: 'Leo was my youngest son and we had a bond like no other. He left his mark wherever he went. 'We knew early on in the police investigation that the murderer was known to the Home Office. We later found out he was an illegal immigrant. 'Leo has been let down by the Home Office. We have all been let down by the Home Office. 'If the Home Office had done their job properly then the public of Coventry may have been saved and Leo might still be here. 'There will never be justice for Leo.' In other tributes read to the court, Mr Corriedo - whose wife Marilyn said he had been callously left to die - was described as a 'wonderful, protective and caring' husband and a devoted father.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Man given life and hospital order for fatal Coventry hit-and-runs
A man has been sentenced after two men were killed and a third was seriously injured in a series of hit-and-runs on the same Kasaj, 34, of no fixed address, was given a life sentence with a minimum of nine years and four months over the crashes in Coventry on 3 September 2023. Pedestrian Leo Moran, 44, and cyclist Joel Carriedo, 47, were killed in the rampage. A third man, Andy Agyemang, was seriously court on Monday, a psychiatrist said evidence suggested Kasaj was "acutely psychotic" and "suffering paranoid delusions" at the time of the offence. Kasaj, who the court heard was an Albanian migrant already on bail for alleged immigration offences, was sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on Monday. "None of the evidence about your mental state detracts from the seriousness of what you did," Judge Akhlaq Choudhury said. "You committed horrendous crimes on that day against innocent victims."Kasaj was given a hybrid sentence - a hospital order alongside the prison term - meaning he will be detained in a health facility and only transferred to prison if deemed well enough. He is currently being held in a secure mental health facility, West Midlands Police said. Mr Moran was hit on Gosford Street while Mr Carriedo was hit on Woodway Lane, police a statement read out at court on Monday, Mr Moran's mother Teresa said she felt "enraged, exhausted and lost" after her son's Carriedo's wife Marilyn said in a statement she felt heartbroken every day after losing her "wonderful, caring and supportive" added that their children's lives had been shattered and she suffered from received the life sentence for two counts of manslaughter, plus a 10-year sentence for one count of attempted murder to be served concurrently. He previously pled guilty to all three charges. Immigration offences In court on Monday, prosecuting lawyer Peter Grieves-Smith said Kasaj had left Albania in 2022 and had been bailed to an address in Coventry after being arrested for immigration Grieves-Smith added that Kasaj had been due to appear at an immigration centre in Solihull last December but failed to do Home Office has been contacted for defence lawyer, Jeremy Dein KC, said the defendant felt remorse for the crashes and had no previous convictions, adding that his responsibility was at the lower end of the scale because he was prone to acute psychotic initially faced two murder charges but they were changed to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility. Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Driver who killed two while on immigration centre bail given life term
A mentally ill driver who deliberately crashed into a cyclist and two pedestrians during a 'killing spree' has been sentenced to life imprisonment alongside a Mental Health Act order meaning he will initially be detained in hospital. Warwick Crown Court was told Albanian national Emiljano Kasaj was in the UK illegally and in breach of his bail from an immigration detention centre when he used his Mercedes to unlawfully kill passer-by Leo Moran and cyclist Joel Carriedo. A third victim was knocked into a building and suffered a head injury during what High Court Judge Mr Justice Choudhury described as 'horrendous' offences committed against innocent victims in Coventry in September 2023. Kasaj, aged 34, pleaded guilty in March this year to one count of attempted murder and two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. His sentencing hearing was told on Monday that he was suffering from a severe paranoid illness, probably schizophrenia, at the time of the killings, falsely believing he was a 'king' who was being blackmailed by political leaders in Albania. The court heard that as he was placed into a cell after the deaths, Kasaj had said a burst tyre had prevented him claiming more victims and said: 'I have killed two people today. I was going to be next. It was my turn to get slaughtered.' Passing sentence, the judge told Kasaj: 'On September 3 2023 you decided to kill random members of the public by mowing them down in your car. 'In the space of a few minutes you killed two people and seriously injured a third. 'It is only because you crashed your car that mercifully there were no more victims.' Describing the events as a 'killing spree', the judge said of comments made by Kasaj after his arrest: 'You therefore admitted hitting the victims intentionally with the purpose of killing them.' Accepting that the explanation for Kasaj's actions lay in his mental health problems and the 'beliefs' he held, the judge told him: 'You clearly had what the law calls an abnormality of mental functioning.' Kasaj was sentenced to life with a minimum term of nine years and four months and also given an indefinite hybrid order under mental health laws meaning he will be detained in hospital 'for as long as is necessary' given his condition. Graphic CCTV footage played to the court showed 44-year-old Mr Moran, who died of a neck injury, being struck at 7.56am in Gosford Street. Other footage, presented to the court by prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith, showed the car driving off at speed with a smashed windscreen, and later travelling towards hospital worker Mr Carriedo, a married father-of-two. The 47-year-old NHS worker, whose bike was split in two by the impact, died of chest injuries after being struck head-on and knocked over a wall in Woodway Lane at 8.03am. Opening the facts of the case against Kasaj, of no fixed address, Mr Grieves-Smith said the defendant went on to crash into a house around 300 metres away and was arrested almost an hour later in a nearby garden. The court heard Kasaj had used a false name and address to register the vehicle. Mr Grieves-Smith said Kasaj was arrested for immigration offences in August 2022 as he had made no attempts to register with the authorities, and was detained in order to be removed back to Albania. Kasaj was held at Harmondsworth Detention Centre in west London but in October 2022, the court heard, he was bailed to an address in Newfield Road, Coventry, with a condition to sign on at the Solihull Immigration Centre on December 5. Mr Grieves-Smith said: 'He failed to appear for this and all other appointments.' Psychiatric evidence presented to the court showed that Kasaj suffers from 'a major mental illness, the most likely diagnosis being schizophrenia' which may have been aggravated by use of cannabis or cocaine in the weeks before the incident. In a victim impact statement to the court, Mr Moran's mother Teresa said: 'Leo was my youngest son and we had a bond like no other. He left his mark wherever he went. 'We knew early on in the police investigation that the murderer was known to the Home Office. We later found out he was an illegal immigrant. 'Leo has been let down by the Home Office. We have all been let down by the Home Office. If the Home Office had done their job properly then the public of Coventry may have been saved and Leo might still be here. 'There will never be justice for Leo.' In other tributes read to the court, Mr Corriedo – whose wife said he had been callously left to die – was described as a 'wonderful, protective and caring' husband and a devoted father.
