“Terminator” machete Tube maker Ricky Morgan is guilty of attempted murder

Passengers overturned on each other as they fled through the carriages when Ricky Morgan launched an unprovoked attack on James Porit, Old Bailey heard.

Morgan, 34, was heard shouting, “I’ll kill him, I’ll kill him,” and told horrified observers, “It’s not a terrorist attack, I just want him.”

Mr Porit, who suffered a severe hand injury, told the jury it was like a “horror movie” and compared it to a scene from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s fantasy film “Terminator”.

Morgan denied attempted murder on the grounds of insanity, but was found guilty by a jury in Old Bailey after two days of deliberation.

He was also convicted of possession of a machete and a castle knife.

In a statement after the conviction, Mr Porit said the incident changed his life.

“It was a long and traumatic journey that I had to go through. I am still in the process of recovery, ”he said. “Until I reach this destination, this is the road I continue to follow. The scars from this attack on my legs, elbows, arm, face / head and my whole right arm will stay with me for the rest of my life. ”

The attack took place on July 9 last year, when Mr Porit, a self-employed businessman, along with other passengers after visiting the gym went to meet his girlfriend and her father in West London on the Jubilee Line Tube.

He boarded a train heading north to Westminster before Morgan pulled a machete and a castle knife from his backpack near Green Park.

“It was a completely unprovoked attack on a passenger on the Jubilee line who was engaged in his daily affairs,” said prosecutor Grace Ong.

Mr Porit told the court that he was busy with his business, looking at his phone and being in a “bubble” while sitting in the car.

He heard a scream and then felt Morgan hit him on the head.

He raised his hand to protect himself during the onslaught, the jury heard.

Describing the attack, he said: “I asked, ‘Please stop, please stop.’

“I was shocked, it was like in a horror movie. I really thought he would kill me. “

Mr Porit said he felt nothing but saw blood when Morgan smashed an object about his head.

He said: “He just beat me. It didn’t make sense. I didn’t understand why this guy was beating me. There was no confrontation. There were no problems, it was just a blow, (he) started beating me.

It was like a car, like that movie “Terminator”.

“He was emotionless. He seemed to have no compassion. But it looked very focused and relentless, and he was just damn inclined to do what he was doing.

“He was like on a mission. He kept beating me on the shin and I really thought I was going to die.

“Now I have nothing left. I don’t know how I escaped. I was afraid I would lose my little finger, and held it together.

“I just knew to fight or run away. I just ran for my life. It was like a stampede, people were horrified. “

Morgan chased him and threw a “huge” blade through the window of the connected car door, Mr. Porit said.

Pointing the knife through the door, Morgan said, “I don’t want anyone else, I just want him,” the court heard.

Mr Porit described the machete as something from “Arab Nights”.

He added: “It was as if he was a predator and he was hunting and he decided he was hunting me.”

Mr Porit said it was “so surreal” to be targeted by a stranger on a train at rush hour.

“He just didn’t stop. He was relentless. He said he didn’t want anyone else, he just wanted me. He was obsessed with me,” Mr Porit said.

He managed to get out through the car door, holding the severed parts of his hand together.

Witnesses to the attack described the stampede of subway passengers fleeing in terror from an enraged Morgan.

The woman, who was heading to the concert with her sister and friend, said she saw Morgan “holding a machete over his head and dropping it with all his might.”

She saw her sister, whose leg was in Mr. Porit’s blood, and their friend told police she heard the attacker shout, “This is not a terrorist attack.”

Another passenger described having “anger erupted” on his face, while a man on board with an eight-month-old baby said, “Suddenly 30 to 50 people ran downstairs. In the back of the group was James Porit, blood was coming from his head and his leg was cut.

“Mr. Morgan was walking towards them, he had a machete with blood in his right hand and a knife with a six-inch blade. He said they started, I’m not for you, it’s them. “

A doctor aboard the train provided first aid to Mr Porit when police intervened to stop the attack and arrest Morgan.

Faced with police, Morgan dropped the blade, raised his hands and fell to the floor.

He told officers it was a “road problem” and not a “terrorist attack”, adding: “If I had known it would cause so much drama, I would not have done it.”

Morgan had to tell the psychiatrist that he had been carrying a machete and a castle knife for some time.

He also had an almost empty bottle of vodka in his backpack, the court explained.

Morgan, who does not have an exact address, refused to testify in court.

Judge John Hillen adjourned the sentencing until July 22 to prepare a psychiatric report.