Poundland stabbing death: Trevor Joyce pleads guilty to random killing of shopper in Abingdon shop

A man has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a total stranger he stabbed to death in a branch of Poundland in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Trevor Joyce, 36, stabbed antique dealer Justin Skrebowski in the back on 7 December 2015 after grabbing a knife from a display. Skrebowski, 61, was out shopping for a present for his wife, whose birthday was that day.

Joyce, of Abingdon, denied murder but pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. He also pleaded guilty to two counts of making threats to kill, one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH) and one of threatening others with offensive weapons. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

Investigating officer, Det Insp Stuart Blaik from the Thames Valley Police Major Crime Unit, said: "Justin Skrebowski was shopping in Abingdon on his wife's birthday when he was viciously and fatally attacked by Trevor Joyce. This was a completely random and unprovoked attack on an innocent member of the public, which is all the more difficult to comprehend.

"Joyce has pleaded guilty to manslaughter today on the grounds of diminished responsibility. This will not bring Justin back or make up for the loss that his heartbroken family have suffered, but I hope that the conviction will give them some small comfort. I would like to thank them for their support throughout the investigation and on behalf of the Force, I would like to offer my condolences. Our thoughts remain with them at this incredibly difficult and sad time."

Following the hearing Skrebowski's widow Gulsen Alkan told the Oxford Mail Justin's death had devastated the whole family. "On my birthday Justin went to Poundland to buy some balloons for our young twins and didn't come back," said Alkan. "The children will never see their Daddy again. The killing of Justin has left me and my two children with a devastating emotional burden and a daunting financial future which I now have to deal with alone."