THE Reading attacker who murdered three men in a park will appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday for the start of his sentencing.
Khairi Saadallah, 26, was said to have shouted "Allah Akhbar" and "victory on infidels" during the violent spree in June last year which lasted less than two minutes.
Last November, the defendant, of Basingstoke Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to three murders and three attempted murders.
Mr Justice Sweeney had adjourned the case until the new year to hear more evidence about the circumstances leading to the attack before passing sentence.
Issues to be decided included whether there was a substantial degree of premeditation and planning, whether it was for a religious, political, or ideological cause and to what degree Saadallah's mental state influenced his actions.
The defendant had submitted a basis of plea, denying substantial preparation or planning and saying he was not motivated by an ideological cause.
By contrast the prosecution assert that it was a planned terror attack.
Saadallah launched the attacks in Forbury Gardens, Reading, on Saturday June 20 last year as numerous people, including children, were enjoying the summer evening.
History teacher at The Holt School, in Wokingham, James Furlong, 36, scientist David Wails, 49, and US citizen who had moved to the UK 15 years ago Joseph Ritchie-Bennett, 39, were fatally stabbed.
Their friend Stephen Young, and Patrick Edwards and Nishit Nisudan, who were sitting in a nearby group, were injured.
According to a case summary, the defendant had bought a large knife and gloves from a Morrisons supermarket the day before.
After carrying out the stabbings, the defendant then discarded the knife and ran out of the park.
An off-duty police officer called 999 and followed the attacker before he was apprehended.
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Saadallah had a history of mental health issues, debt and homelessness, according to court documents.
He arrived in the UK as an asylum seeker in 2012, having fled the civil war in his home country of Libya in North Africa.
Saadallah had six previous convictions for 11 crimes between June 2015 and January last year, according to a 2019 Court of Appeal judgment obtained by the PA news agency.
He was originally jailed for 25 months and 20 days in October 2019 for a string of crimes but the sentence was later reduced in March following an appeal.
His sentencing before Mr Justice Sweeney is expected to continue on January 6 and 8 and conclude on January 11.
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