Paranoid schizophrenic from Burnley who attacked a 75-year-old detained in secure mental hospital indefinitely
A paranoid schizophrenic who viciously attacked a vulnerable 75-year-old woman in the street has been ordered to be detained in a secure mental hospital indefinitely.
Joshua Simmons, 28, also assaulted another random woman as she walked home from school with her nine-year-old daughter and he smashed a beer glass over his own mother’s head in a row at home, Preston Crown Court heard.
Since the assaults Simmons has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act and kept under lock and key at the Guild Lodge hospital unit in Preston.
Judge Sarah O’Brien told him he will remain there under treatment for a “significant” time and will only be released back into the community when he is no longer considered a threat to the public.
The court was told that Simmons walked up to pensioner Dorthy Marshall outside New Look in Burnley town centre as she was out shopping and felled her with a ferocious right hook to the face.
The frail 75-year-old, who suffers from dementia, crashed to the pavement causing a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain, fractures to the face and a deep gash on her nose and cheek which had left a large scar. The whole incident was caught on CCTV and replayed in court.
Her son told the judge in a victim impact statement that “fortunately” she was not able to remember the assault because of short-term memory loss caused by her dementia.
Simmons was chased by several courageous eye-witnesses and cornered in a nearby store where one of the men, Ahamad Hussain, sat on him until police arrived.
During the scuffle Mr Hussain was racially abused by Simmons as he struggled to get free and Judge O’Brien recommended that the have-a-go hero should receive a commendation and £200 in compensation.
That attack came days after a similar assault on Sarah Iddon who was walking home from school along Brent Street in Burnley with her young daughter when Simmons approached them and punched Mrs Iddon on the side of the face before jogging off.
The attack left her dazed and with a bruised left eye and cheekbone, together with bruising to her right arm caused when she fell over.
Simmons was positively identified by his victim from CCTV in the area at the time.
In her victim statement read out in court she said: “Why did he do that to me? I can’t process it and I don’t know why it happened.”
She said since the attack she was constantly worried about her daughter’s safety in the street and had changed their route to and from school. They also had both had counselling.
“It has made me feel vulnerable and unsafe in an area I have lived in for 11 years,” she said. “I hide in my house away from the world. My friends say I seem on edge when we go out.”
The court was told that earlier Simmons, of Low Bank Road, Burnley, had visited his mother Catherine Simmons’ home and become upset when she asked him what he was doing in the kitchen while he was looking for a mug to drink out of.
He told her not to speak to him like that and then picked up a table and threw it at her. He then slapped her across the face and hit her over the head with a pint glass.
The assault left her with a three centimetre gash to the head, broke her spectacles and caused a facial injury. She was said to have been covered in blood when she ran for help to a neighbour’s house.
When he was arrested he denied hurting his mother and said he they had just had a quick chat and watched some TV before he left.
In her victim impact statement Mrs Simmons said the attack had left her feeling anxious and she no longer liked being on her own at home. She has since kept her doors and windows locked.
“He is still my son and I love him a great deal,” she said. “I didn’t want him to be prosecuted for his actions, however it has reached a point where I feel I have no option. I just want him to get help.”
Barrister Martin Hackett, defending, described the case as “disturbing.” He said Simmons had been diagnosed as suffering from paranoid schizophrenia and it was not the first time he had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
He said he “couldn’t argue” with the view of two psychiatrists that Simmons should be given a hospital order with an additional restriction order rather than being sent to prison.
“The result will be that he will remain under the care of mental health authorities in secure accommodation until he is considered safe to be released,” he added.
Dr Lucy Shaw, who has been treating Simmons at Guild Lodge since October 2023, told Judge O’Brien: “I believe he was mentally unwell when he committed the offences. A hospital place is the most appropriate for him . . . to safeguard the public.
“He will likely require significant time in hospital to address his mental health needs.”
Judge O’Brien told Simmons his violence had caused “a terrible impact” on all three of his victims and their families, and that it remained “an ongoing nightmare for each of them.”
“You need treatment, that is clear. You need in-depth psychological treatment and a lengthy hospital stay.
“You have a long-standing mental health history. You have been sectioned more than once.”
She said she needed to balance the punishment which was required in the case with protecting the public and that sending Simmons to jail after a stay in hospital would not protect the public and might pose an ongoing risk.
In reality a lengthy stay in hospital was required, given the severity of the offences and the need to protect the public.
Judge O’Brien ordered that he be detained in a secure mental health hospital “without time limit” until it was felt he was no longer a threat.
“The court’s primary aim is to protect the public.”
She also praised the bravery of Mr Hussain and others who chased and caught Simmons after the assault on Mrs Marshall in Burnley town centre “where others may have run in the opposite direction.”
Simmons had pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to Mrs Marshall, assault occasioning actual bodily harm to Sarah Iddon and Catherine Simmons, criminal damage and causing racially aggravated fear or violence to Mr Hussain.
The court case was attended by our freelance reporter Brian Ellis.