A court heard today how a waiter with a history of mental illness, took a cheese knife from a cutlery store, walked down two floors at The Oxfordshire Golf Club, repeatedly stabbed another man with it and then used it to saw off the victims head.
Jonathan Limani, 33, a Serbian by birth, changed his plea at was to be the beginning of his trial today, for the killing of the club’s restaurant manager, Christopher Varian, aged 32, who was raised in Chinnor, near Thame.
Witnesses described how they mistook Limani’s movements for an attempt at resuscitating his victim, when they found him covered in blood, with the body, amongst rubbish bins in the service yard at the rear of the building.
At Oxford Crown Court, Limani pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility, and in a rare ‘hybrid’ sentence, was given Life imprisonment for a minimum of 19 years and ordered under Section 45A of the Mental Health Act to be contained at Broadmoor Hospital without limit of time, to continue treatment for Paranoid Schizophrenia.
Two forensic psychiatrists gave evidence that they believed Limani probably has an underlying psychopathic personality disorder, meaning that he would be able to be manipulative and deceitful and hide any recurring symptoms of paranoia once treated.
In sentencing, Judge Anthony King therefore concluded: “It is likely that you (Jonathan Limani) will be a danger to the public for the rest of your natural life.
“What you did was violent and brutal in the extreme. In some sort of delusional state, you selected the cheese knife, went down two flights of stairs, way-layed him (Chris Varian) in the smoking area and used savage and extreme force in order to complete the offence of severing his head from his body.”
Chris Varian’s family had issued several Victim statements from which their profound shock, incomprehension and pain were obvious. His sister, Katerina described how the whole family had been left with “such a macabre image that won’t go away.”
She and her brother Roger spoke of the Varians’ strong family ties and love for their brother, and how the family had been scarred by an event that had rocked their lives just as he was getting into his stride in his career.
After hearing of the added trauma the family had had to endure because of the repeated adjournments and delays since the killing on August 21, 2010, Judge King concluded: “My heart goes out to the family for the extreme length of time it has taken to resolve these matters.”
Det Ch Insp Steve Tolmie, Senior Investigating Officer, said: ?Thames Valley Police has a duty to thoroughly investigate all incidents of this nature and present the facts together with the Crown Prosecution Service to a court.
?Every murder is by its very nature traumatic and very emotional for the family and friends involved but this particular case is horrific due to the level of injuries inflicted.
?This may be the end of the judicial chapter but as far as the family are concerned, their pain and loss will always remain. My thoughts continue to be with them at this very difficult time.?
PHOTO: Jonathan Warg Limani