Robert Torto is a

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

ian hate criminal who

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ed two Asian men, Khizar Hayat and Hamidullah Hamidi, in the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

district of

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

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

media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

, having claimed to be the

Son of God Historically, many rulers have assumed titles such as the son of God, the son of a god or the son of heaven. The term "Son of God" is used in the Hebrew Bible as another way to refer to humans who have a special relationship with God. In Exo ...

during a court-hearing before his trial. His victims died of

burns Burns may refer to: Astronomy * 2708 Burns, an asteroid * Burns (crater), on Mercury People * Burns (surname), list of people and characters named Burns ** Burns (musician), Scottish record producer Places in the United States * 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 (a kind of acute inhalation injury) which is damage to the respirator ...

after he threw a

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

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 variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...

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

Hindus Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

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

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), graft surgery, involves the organ transplant, transplantation of skin without a defined circulation. The transplanted biological tissue, tissue is called a skin graft. Surgeons may use skin grafting to ...

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

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

South Norwood South Norwood is a district of South 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 Woodside and ...

, leaving the owner with severe burns. Finally, on 27 April, he fire-bombed a food-and-wine shop in

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

was able to reach them. Hayat was declared dead on arrival at

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

, 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 Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

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 com ...

Ford Cougar The Ford Cougar is a D-segment 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 thir ...

, 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 Stockwell is a district located in South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. History The name Stockwell is likely to have originated from a local well, with "stoc" being Old Englis ...

. 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 ...

clubs, hospitals where

sex change Sex change may refer to: Biology and medicine *Gender-affirming care, the medical aspect of gender transition, that is, modifying person's sex characteristics **Gender-affirming surgery, surgical procedures that alters a person's physical appearan ...

s were performed,

prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...

s and members of all non-Christian religions, including

and

pagans Pagans may refer to: * Paganism, a group of pre-Christian religions practiced in the Roman Empire * Modern Paganism, a group of contemporary religious practices * Pagan's Motorcycle Club, a motorcycle club * The Pagans The Pagans were an Am ...

. 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. Canada *The Mental Health Act (Ontario) India *The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 Ireland *The Mental Health Act 2001 New Zealand *The Mental health ( ...

. He was sent to

Broadmoor Hospital Broadmoor Hospital is a high-security psychiatric hospital in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. It is the oldest of England's three high-security psychiatric hospitals, 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 A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

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 assault is an offence in English law. It is committed by a person who causes another person to apprehend the immediate use of unlawful violence by the defendant. In England and Wales, the penalty and mode of trial for this offence is pro ...

. After release, Torto was examined by psychiatrists and prescribed

anti-psychotic Antipsychotics, previously known as neuroleptics and major tranquilizers, are a class of psychotropic medication primarily used to manage psychosis (including delusions, hallucinations, paranoia or disordered thought), principally in schizoph ...

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 the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

to ban

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. 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 ...

. 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 People with schizophrenia Year of birth missing (living people) 2006 murders in the United Kingdom Anti-Asian sentiment in Europe