Man who beheaded British woman in Tenerife moved to prison

THE man who beheaded a 60-year-old British woman in Tenerife in May was moved to prison after attacking a nurse in a psychiatric unit. Bulgarian Deyan Valentinov Deyanov, 28, charged with murder, was being held in the Hospital de la Candelaria since he murdered Jennifer Mills-Westley and apparently lashed out at a nurse in his cell while two armed National Police officers were outside.

She was not seriously hurt. He was under sedation, tied to a bed and handcuffed, as well as being under the surveillance of a CCTV camera. However, the nurse failed to follow protocol and entered his cell without the presence of a policeman.

He will now be confined to the hospital wing of the prison, away from other inmates.

Deyanov, a paranoid schizophrenic with a history of drug use who once threatened to kill his own six-year-old child, carried his victim’s head into the street after stabbing her 14 times and decapitating her in a shop. He was on bail for hitting a security guard in the face at the time.

Deyanov’s own family revealed he had stolen from them, leaving his parents destitute.

He had been released from a mental health hospital in the UK in October last year.

In this case, he could be declared immune from prosecution and acquitted of the crime if it is proved he was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the killing.

When he left the shop where he killed his victim, he was shouting ‘I am avenging God and have come to do justice’. Fifty metres further on, an Italian man hit him with a motorbike helmet, preventing him from escaping. Other witnesses confirmed he believed himself to be a prophet sent by God.

He was living on the streets and had been stopped by Local Police at least four times. There were reports requesting that he be removed from the local streets as he was a threat to others. Just three days before the crime, an arrest warrant had been issued against him.