A BRUTAL fantasist who killed a rough sleeper with a paving slab as he slept has been jailed for life.

Sergio Lemori took a concrete slab in a handbag with him to Royal Pavilion Gardens in Brighton where Andrew O’Connell had bedded down for the night in a porch.

The 33-year-old then dropped the concrete slab onto Mr O’Connell’s head four times during an attack which was recorded on CCTV.

Lemori told court staff he is from Italy, and is also known as Sima Asif-Hamzda. He has given no explanation or motive for the attack.

At Lewes Crown Court he admitted murdering the 54-year-old grandfather, and was described as “utterly barbaric” by Judge Christine Laing QC.

Kate Lumsdon, prosecuting, said Mr O’Connell, from Kent, had wanted to go “travelling the world”, but was rough sleeping in a porch at the Royal Pavilion, where he had an understanding with security staff to move off each morning.

But when they tried to rouse him on the morning of Wednesday, August 8 last year, they found he was bleeding in the head and had blood coming from his ear.

He was taken in an ambulance to the Royal Sussex County Hospital, where expert neurologists battled to save him, but he died on August 10. 

Ms Lumsdon said the CCTV footage showed Lemori creeping up to Mr O’Connell, checking he was asleep, and also checking that no one else was around.

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He dropped the slab once then walked away, then returned to repeat the attack again and again. The fourth time he used considerable force, to the extent that his intention could only have been to kill Mr O’Connell.

Judge Laing said it was one of the most shocking pieces of footage she had ever seen.

Police found Lemori sleeping rough in a graveyard nearby, still wearing the same flip flops, black shorts and a white T-shirt with a slogan “I love London” that was seen on the CCTV.

He admitted murder at Lewes Crown Court in December.

Tom Nicholson-Pratt, defending, said the case was “bizarre” and said there is “no obvious explanation” for why Lemori did it.

Psychiatric reports show he is not mentally ill, but there is some speculation he could have an antisocial personality disorder or be psychopathic.

One report from a GP once reported that Lemori had “abnormal mental processes” and was “disassociated from reality”.

Mr Nicholson-Pratt said there is no previous evidence of violence in Lemori’s criminal record either here or in Italy, but said it is not if Lemori is Italian originally.

Mr O’Connell’s daughter Tara described the killing as “tragic and inhumane”.

She said: “I keep picturing Lemori smashing my father’s head in as he was sleeping. My father was a lover, not a fighter.

“As a family we are heartbroken. We will never be the same again. Our children have been robbed of the chance to know their grandfather.

“I hope that Lemori faces the full force of the law. This appears to be entirely at random. He must never be allowed to make another family suffer in the way we have.”

Judge Laing imposed a life sentence, where Lemori must serve a minimum of 25 years before he can even be considered for release. 

She said: “Mr O’Connell was a much-loved son, father and grandfather. The circumstances of this case are truly shocking.

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“I’m quite satisfied that your intent was to kill. This was a brutal, callous and sustained attack on an utterly defenceless man. It appears to have been entirely motiveless as you did not know each other.

“You have offered no explanation as to why you attacked him in this way. There is no evidence of mental illness. You are a fantasist, not prepared to be honest about your origins or why you behaved in this utterly barbaric fashion.

“Your utter lack of remorse suggests to me that you may have psychopathic tendencies. That will be for others to determine.”

In court, Lemori kept silent with his head bowed. As he was taken down, Mr O’Connell’s family members appeared to ask him why, but he ignored them.