Plaistow: Mental health care centre killer is sentenced

A 22-year-old man has been detained in hospital indefinitely for killing a fellow resident at a mental health centre.

Rolando Torres-Pena pleaded guilty last month to the manslaughter of Hugo Flint-Cahan.

Judge Mark Dennis handed him a hospital order without limit of time during a sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey.

Mr Flint-Cahan, 34, was attacked at the Newham Centre for Mental Health in Plaistow, in east London.

Metropolitan Police officers had been alerted in the early hours of 3 January to a man injured at the adult care facility.

Mr Flint-Cahan died at the scene and a post-mortem examination found the cause of death was compression of the neck.

Torres-Pena, previously of Carson Road, Newham, east London, was arrested at the scene.

The defendant, who had been held at Broadmoor high security psychiatric hospital, denied murder but admitted the lesser offence by diminished responsibility which was accepted by the prosecution.

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