Judge won't sentence Ukrainian axeman until he has psychiatric report

Taras Voinovich, 69, was found guilty in January of attacking Philip Turpin with the sheathed axe in broad daylight in east Oxford last July.

He had smashed Mr Turpin’s front window, on which was pasted a sticker reading ‘thank God for immigrants’, then went for the lawyer when he came outside.

READ MORE: 'Murderous' Ukrainian faces life sentence for beating lawyer with axe

He also assaulted the lawyer’s wife when she went to her husband’s aid and a neighbour, who wrestled the axe from the attacker.

It was suggested during the trial that Voinovich may have been a ‘disgruntled’ client of the victim’s law immigration firm Turpin and Miller.

The jury heard that the firm had been dealing with an ‘application’ on his behalf.

There was a dispute, ‘a refund had been requested, because the defendant was aggrieved for whatever reason about money he didn’t think he should have to pay’, prosecutor Jonathan Stone told jurors earlier this year.

Taras Voinovich walks from the scene after the attack. The image was shown to the jury at Oxford Crown Court Picture: CPS (Image: Thames Valley Police)

The Ukrainian national only turned up to court for the first day of his trial, then refused to leave his prison cell.

After he was found guilty in his absence, trial judge Recorder John Hardy KC dictated a letter to be sent to him at HMP Bullingdon.

The judge, who described the attack on Mr Turpin as 'murderous', told the defendant in his letter that he was considering imposing a life sentence.

Those warnings that he might receive a life sentence did not materialise when Recorder Hardy returned to Oxford Crown Court on Monday (March 20) to deal with Voinovich’s case.

The judge was told that confusion over who was meant to arrange it meant no psychiatrist had been instructed to compile a report on the defendant’s mental state.

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Wearing a sand-coloured donkey jacket and a thick grey beard, Voinovich sat in the dock and spoke only to confirm his name.

He followed the proceedings through a Russian interpreter, who stood outside the glass dock in courtroom one.

Recorder Hardy would not sentence without the psychiatric report, which will be paid for by the court but organised by the defendant’s lawyers.

He said: “I am minded to have a psychiatric report because this case was one in which the court was not merely receiving accounts of what happened. This was one in which the court was witnessing what was happening on some of the most clear and graphic CCTV footage that I for one have ever seen.

“Amongst matters which were of concern to me was the eerie calmness with which Mr Voinovich left the scene.

“It seems to me that it’s only fair to Mr Voinovich on the one hand and in the interests of justice on the other that the court should be fully appraised of the psychiatric position before passing sentence upon him.”

The case was adjourned until June 2.

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