Robert Torto is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian hate criminal who murdered two

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

men, Khizar Hayat and Hamidullah Hamidi, in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

district of Kennington in 2006. He was described as the "Son of God killer" in the

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

, having claimed to be the Son of God during a court-hearing before his trial. His victims died of burns and

smoke inhalation Smoke inhalation is the breathing in of harmful fumes (produced as by-products of combusting substances) through the respiratory tract. This can cause smoke inhalation injury (subtype of acute inhalation injury) which is damage to the respirator ...

after he threw a

petrol bomb A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...

into the shop in which they worked. Witnesses described him "laughing" as he ran from the scene.

Crimes

Torto, who suffered from

paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social w ...

and had a "history of assault", set out to target

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and other communities in London. His first attack was on a newsagent in

Tulse Hill Tulse Hill is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth in South London that sits on Brockwell Park. It is approximately five miles from Charing Cross and is bordered by Brixton, Dulwich, Herne Hill, Streatham and West Norwood. History The a ...

on 14 April 2006. He threw a petrol bomb into the shop and caused serious burns to a customer, who later required

skin graft Skin grafting, a type of graft surgery, involves the transplantation of skin. The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft. Surgeons may use skin grafting to treat: * extensive wounding or trauma * burns * areas of extensive skin loss du ...

s to his legs. Four days later, he attacked an

off licence Off or OFF may refer to: Art and entertainment *Off (video game), ''Off'' (video game), a video game by Mortis Ghost. *Sven Väth, German DJ and singer who uses the pseudonym OFF *Off (album), ''Off'' (album), by Ciwan Haco, 2006 *Off! (album), ' ...

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, Greater London and formerly in the historic county of Surrey. It is located 7.8 miles (12.5 km) south-east of Charing Cross, north of Wood ...

, leaving the owner with severe burns. Finally, on 27 April, he fire-bombed a food-and-wine shop in Kennington. Of the four people then on the premises, two were able to escape by running through the flames, although they suffered burns as they did so. However, staff-members Khizar Hayat and Hamidullah Hamidi were trapped because the rear door of the shop was locked. They suffered burns and

before the

fire brigade A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

was able to reach them. Hayat was declared dead on arrival at hospital, Hamidi died five days later on May 2.

Arrest and trial

Witnesses had seen Torto "laughing" as he ran from the scene of the arson. Using their description, the police examined CCTV footage and saw Torto leaving the scene in a

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

Ford Cougar The Ford Cougar is a coupé that was produced and sold in the European market between 1998 and 2002, and sold in Canada and the United States from 1999 until 2002 as the Mercury Cougar. The car was originally intended to be the third generati ...

, which he had also used for his two previous attacks. The car was placed under surveillance and Torto was arrested leaving his home in Stockwell. The police searched his home and found a handwritten list of targets, which included

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

clubs, hospitals where

sex change Sex change is a natural or artificial process in which an individual's sex is changed. Sex change may also refer to: Biology and medicine *Sex reassignment therapy *Sex reassignment surgery *Sequential hermaphroditism, a phenomenon whereby some ...

s were performed, prostitutes and members of all non-Christian religions, including

and pagans. Torto refused to explain why he had carried out his hate-crimes and did not express remorse for the deaths and injuries he had caused. Detective Chief Inspector David Garwood, who had led the investigation, said: "Robert Torto clearly had a mission in mind and that was to attack people from a number of different communities with crude yet dangerous homemade accelerant devices. ... I am convinced that had Torto remained undetected he would have attacked again, which may have resulted in the further loss of life." The judge at the trial, Peter Beaumont, ordered Torto to be detained indefinitely under the

Mental Health Act Mental Health Act is a stock short title used for legislation relating to mental health law. List Canada * Mental Health Act (Ontario) (Ontario) India *The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 Ireland *The Mental Health Act 2001 New Zealand *The Men ...

. He was sent to

Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of the three high-security psychiatric hospitals in England, the other two being Ashworth Hospital near Liverpool and Rampton Secure ...

, a high-security hospital for the criminally insane.

Psychiatric history

Torto had a long history of involvement with police and mental services. In 1996, he confronted two Asian men, threatening them with a handgun and hitting one in the stomach. He was jailed for eighteen months for assault. In 1998, he twice targeted a supermarket, first telling the owner he would set him on fire, then saying he would blow up the premises. He was jailed for three months for using threatening words and behaviour and

common assault Common may refer to: Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Common, common land area in Cambridge, Massachusetts * Clapham Common, originally com ...

. After release, Torto was examined by psychiatrists and prescribed anti-psychotic medication, but he failed to keep his appointments and was assessed again by psychiatrists in February 2001. He claimed he could influence the

ian government and wanted the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

to ban

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

. He was given a place at a psychiatric unit in March 2001, where he received compulsory medication, but after a month he "managed to fool doctors into letting him out". He seems to have had no further contact with psychiatric services until his arrest for double-murder in 2006. At a pre-trial hearing, he claimed to be the "Son of God".

References

External links

'Son Of God' Arrested
— report at GhanaWeb
Robert Torto
at BritishMurders.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Torto, Robert English people of Ghanaian descent Arson in the United Kingdom English people convicted of murder Ghanaian people convicted of murder English prisoners and detainees Ghanaian prisoners and detainees Living people 2006 in London Murder in London People convicted of murder by England and Wales People detained at Broadmoor Hospital Year of birth missing (living people) 2006 murders in the United Kingdom Anti-Asian sentiment in Europe