A 19-year-old man has admitted killing a woman after she was accidentally splashed with high-strength acid from a bottle that was pushed towards her as he attempted to steal a bike from another man.
Joanne Rand had been to visit her daughter’s grave and was about to have a cigarette when she was hit with the sulphuric acid last June.
She screamed in pain and ran to a nearby branch of KFC to splash water over herself after the incident in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. She died 11 days later.
Xeneral Webster had been accused of murdering Rand, but pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of manslaughter during his trial at Reading crown court.
Adrian Foster from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Joanne Rand was not the intended victim of the attack, but the prosecution was brought on the basis that by producing an open bottle of acid and raising it to the face of another man, Xeneral Webster intended to cause that individual really serious harm.
“The man fighting with Webster acted reasonably, in the circumstances, by deflecting the bottle away. Webster was responsible for the death of Joanne and had he not planned to hurt the intended victim, Joanne would still be alive today.
“We know that nothing will bring Joanne back to her family and friends, but we hope today’s conviction brings them at least a small sense that justice has been done.”
Webster also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing an offensive weapon, namely bottles of acid and ammonia, and acid, and a fourth charge of affray.
His pleas of not guilty to murder, robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm were accepted by the prosecution, and the case was adjourned for sentencing on 15 June.
Webster, of East Acton, west London, will also be sentenced on that date for charges of threatening to kill, possessing an offensive weapon and damaging property, to which he had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing, in relation to a separate incident.
The court heard Rand was treated and briefly released from hospital after sustaining up to 5% burns on her body.
She died from multiple organ failure after contracting septicaemia due to the acid burns.
Allison Hunter QC, prosecuting, told the court Webster had been in a dispute with Saqib Hussain, from whom he was trying to wrest a bicycle.
Hunter said CCTV footage showed Webster reaching into his satchel for a bottle of acid.
“What he produced next is an open-topped bottle of acid, and he makes to throw it towards Mr Hussain. And he said to Mr Hussain: ‘This is acid’,” she said.
“At this moment, Mr Hussain, panicking, knocks the acid out of Mr Webster’s hand.”
The bottle hit Rand, who was sitting a few metres away, Hunter told the court.
She “instantly noticed that her hair was wet and that her face had begun to burn”, she added.
The prosecutor said Webster knew the consequences of having acid in a public place, having been the victim of an acid attack.
