A 27-YEAR-OLD man has been sentenced a minimum of 14 years for the murder of 51-year-old Sligo man Philip Steels in north London.

The Met Police said that Malachi Lindo of Bowles Green, Enfield caved in Steels face with a brick – leaving him for dead in the street.

Lindo and Steele were strangers who became involved in an altercation.

The court heard that on September 3 2014, Steels (who lived at Burncroft Avenue, Enfield) had been drinking at home and had later gone out.

He had been in a long dispute with a neighbour and was said to be in an angry state. After leaving a friend’s house, Steels became involved in an altercation with Malachi Lindo.

Pool of blood

A fight began and Steels fell to the ground. The court heard that Lindo sat over him and using a house brick which was in a pile nearby smashed about the face, causing horrific injuries.

Lindo left Steels in a pool of blood while he crossed the road towards a parked white Audi A3.

He sat down with his back to the vehicle just yards away from the body for 15 minutes. His legs were on the road and caused several cars to swerve round him.

Met Police Met Police

Police arrived at 1:44am and Lindo ran away but he was caught by police and arrested for murder.

Lindo continued to act erratically and babble and said to officers that he had taken a cocktail of drugs, including cannabis, cocaine and MDMA. He spat at officers and then asked if he could go home saying: “I promise I won’t kill again”.

Steels was pronounced dead at the scene. The brick was found lying alongside his body as well as the blue baseball cap Lindo had been wearing. A rucksack found nearby contained a large quantity of drugs and related paraphernalia belonging to Lindo.

Dealing drugs

Searches at Lindo’s home uncovered more drugs paraphernalia and he has since confirmed that at the time he was actively dealing drugs. Lindo was subsequently charged with the murder of Philip Steels.

Investigating officer Acting Detective Sergeant Mike Stubbins, of the Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC), said:

This was a horrendous attack on an innocent member of the public, brought about by a complicated and confused individual being high on a cocktail of drugs on the evening of the 3 September 2014.

“Lindo had been taking numerous drugs. He has stated that his mind started playing games and he felt he was in a parallel dimension.

“This is a tragic case where an innocent member of the public has felt the wrath of a young man whose life had been unraveling and who had turned to experimenting with illegal substances.

“Unfortunately he has let out his frustration on the first person he has seen leading to the death of Philip Steels.”

Read: Irishman murdered by supermarket worker who thought he was in a “parallel dimension”>