Southend killer detained under Mental Health Act
A man who killed an 88-year-old woman as she walked to her Essex home has been detained in hospital indefinitely.
Rosina Waller, of Johnstone Road, Thorpe Bay, Southend, was attacked on her way home on New Year's Day and died from head injuries.
Hassan Salahi, 34, of Cunningham Close, Southend, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Police said her family could take comfort in the knowledge that he had been "removed from society".
Salahi was sentenced under the Mental Health Act at Chelmsford Crown Court.
Mrs Waller was returning home with a relative having celebrated Christmas and New Year with family and friends, when she was attacked.
She carried on home where she was pronounced dead a short while later.
Det Supt Tracy Hawkings, from the Kent and Essex serious crime directorate, said: "This case has had a devastating effect on the family and friends of Mrs Waller.
"She was the victim of a horrific and unprovoked random attack at the hands of Hassan Salahi.
"While nothing will ease the pain of her family in coming to terms with her loss, I hope that the order will provide them with some small comfort in the knowledge that her killer has been removed from society."