London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Catford care home resident killed 93-year-old neighbour

Catford care home resident killed 93-year-old neighbour

A 63-year-old man has been found responsible for killing a fellow resident at a care home in south-east London.

Alexander Rawson beat 93-year-old Eileen Dean with a metal walking stick.

It was decided that his mental health condition meant he could not enter a plea or stand trial at the Old Bailey.

Rawson was not present in court for any of the case and, instead, a jury listened to the evidence and found he attacked and killed Mrs Dean.

Eileen Dean (L) with her daughter Georgie Hampshaw


It was decided a year ago that Rawson should be moved into the care sector, after spending months in hospital, sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

He was placed at Fieldside care home in Catford, south-east London, where he was more than 20 years younger and much stronger physically than most of the residents.

Alcohol abuse


In July 2020, Rawson had been admitted to nearby Lewisham hospital, following multiple falls.

There, he was diagnosed with two conditions, both the result of chronic alcohol abuse, which have combined symptoms including mental confusion, amnesia and disorientation.

During his hospital stay he became aggressive towards a ward sister and threatened her with a butter knife, saying the staff were out to harm him.

After being restrained, he grabbed a telephone and began hitting a computer.

A few weeks later he threatened staff with a pair of scissors. Later, he said he could not recollect these incidents.

His aggressive behaviour led to him being detained under the Mental Health Act in September 2020, and he was a patient at the Ladywell mental health unit which is at Lewisham hospital, but run by the South London and Maudsley NHS Trust.

Rawson claimed to a doctor that he had been attacked by people from outer space, and he would get a machine gun and kill them.


During an earlier stay at King's College hospital in south London, he was said to have assaulted a doctor.

Risk assessment


Prosecutor Julian Evans told the Old Bailey that in late November 2020: "Mr Rawson was diagnosed with Covid-19, delaying efforts to get him re-housed in a care home."

The BBC has been told that a team of professionals had a meeting to decide where he should be placed.

At that meeting, run by the South London and Maudsley trust, were Rawson's social worker, a psychiatrist and a member of staff from Fieldside care home.

A risk assessment was said to have been done and it was decided to place him in Fieldside.

On 22 December he was moved into a second-floor room next door to Eileen Dean.

From the start of his time there he was distressed and cried a lot, and was believed to be suffering from depression and early-onset dementia.

Within a few days he frightened a female staff member by swearing and waving his walking stick at her.

He sent messages, many to his ex-partner, describing himself as scared and confused.

By the start of the new year he said he feared he was going to be killed in his sleep in "this OAP home".

He was still sending messages a few hours before he attacked Mrs Dean.

Fieldside Care Home was rated "good" by the Care Quality Commission


On the first Sunday of the new year, Rawson was caught on the home's CCTV just after half-past midnight carrying his walking stick.

Five minutes later he was seen without the stick in a distressed state.

'Still alive'


He used his phone to call 999 and told the police operator: "I think somebody has been killed and I don't know what's happening...

"There's loads of people dead here and I don't know how it happened and I'm scared as hell because someone's killed them all... There's one person still alive."

A member of Fieldside's staff, Angela Pawelczyk, saw Rawson on the CCTV in the second-floor hallway, and went to investigate.

Rawson pointed at Mrs Dean's room and said: "She is dead."

But in spite of her appalling injuries, at that point, the 93-year-old was still alive and appeared to mouth the word "help".

Rawson's walking stick was on the bed, the handle was close to the back of Mrs Dean's head.

He told police: "I was on a mission or the world would die. I did what I had to do."

Det Ch Insp Chris Wood, who led the investigation, said Mrs Dean was known as a "calm, quiet and lovely woman", whose husband died almost 30 years ago.

"Eileen was a completely defenceless woman, whose life was suddenly taken away in a horrific manner," he said.

In the weeks after Mrs Dean's killing, the Care Quality Commission, which oversees care homes, carried out a new inspection of Fieldside.

It found its safety and leadership, both previously rated good, needed improvement.

Michael Holland, medical director at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, said the trust offered its "sincere and heartfelt condolences" to Mrs Dean's family and friends.

He said the trust was conducting an investigation to identify areas where it can improve, in line with NHS policy.

The BBC has also asked Fieldside care home for a response.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×