A solicitor was bludgeoned to death in his own home by his mentally-ill housemate who believes she is Princess Diana’s secret daughter, a court heard.
Habiba Naveed, 35, killed 72-year-old Christopher Brown and also stabbed to death their pet cat Snow at the home they shared in Polsted Road, Catford.
She had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2020, suffered mental illness from the age of 16, and was in the grip of a psychotic episode when she carried out the attack on August 14 last year, the Old Bailey heard.
Mr Brown was found dead in the living room, with his torso and face covered by a pink dressing gown, while the cat’s bloodied body was found on the doormat.
Naveed told a doctor after her arrest that she believed Mr Brown had killed his mother and that “he was evil”.
“She heard a voice telling her to kill him three times, she hit him with a pan she was holding which caused him to fall, she then strangled him until she thought he was unconscious”, the doctor recorded.
“She said he had asked her to stop and she realised it was wrong, but she hit him again.
“She believed the evil spirit had jumped out of the deceased and into the cat. She got a knife and cut the cat’s neck.”
Prosecutor Kerry Broome said Naveed’s mental health condition emerged in 2020, but she continued to regularly smoke cannabis and was in and out of mental health treatment.
She had a “central paranoid and delusional belief that she is connected to royalty and the undiscovered daughter of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed”, the court heard.
On Thursday, Judge Sarah Munro KC ordered that Naveed is detained in hospital indefinitely for treatment.
“You snuffed out the life of that quiet, calm, selfless man, as well as your pet cat”, she said.
Naveed was detained under the mental health act in June 2020 after being spotted driving erratically near to Windsor Castle, and in May 2022 she was arrested again after abandoning her car near to the Houses of Parliament.
Naveed was detained in hospital again in April 2023 after her mental health declined and she accused Mr Brown of “burying bodies and being a paedophile”.
In May 2024, after a period of absence from mental health assessments, Naveed reported feeling well and claimed to be holding down a full time job.
In July 2024, Naveed admitted not taking her medication for a year but claimed to be “well”, and a review meeting was set for August 9.
But by August 12, her brother reported serious concerns about her wellbeing, and on August 14 her parents called an ambulance – but she left before it arrived.
Despite the growing concerns, the court heard Naveed’s mental health coordinator spoke to her over the phone on August 14, hours before the killings, and decided that she “seemed fine”.
Judge Munro said: “There was a pattern of admission to hospital, aggressive and violent behaviour, stabilisation, discharge with proscribed medication which you didn’t take, and you remained stable until the psychosis emerged again.”
She added that Naveed’s heavy use of cannabis did not cause the mental health conditions, but it “didn’t help...as you should have known.”
A lodger at the Catford home had heard Naveed angrily arguing with herself that day, and he saw Mr Brown shortly after he arrived home from work in the evening.
Naveed and Mr Brown were then left alone in the home.
Naveed turned up covered in blood on the doorstep of a friend’s house after killing Mr Brown. Later, she told her brother she believed she was Jesus and said: “The devil attacked me last night and I won.”
Friends of Mr Brown paid tribute to his “kind and gentle” nature, but told the court he was also over-trusting and naïve.
He had made Naveed the joint owner of his home in 2016, and when he died he left behind substantial debts and an unsettled mortgage.
Mr Brown had still been working at the time of his death, as the sole solicitor in a law firm dealing with family and housing claims. The law firm is now set to close.
Naveed pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility and causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn of Specialist Crime, who led the investigation, said: "Habiba Naveed has an established history of paranoid schizophrenia. The circumstances of this case highlight the dangers of the illicit use of cannabis and non-compliance with medication prescribed to manage serious mental health conditions.
“Christopher, who was Naveed’s landlord, still worked as a solicitor. He was an incredibly private and well-respected man within the community who is sorely missed by his family and loved ones. Our thoughts are with them.”
