A man who killed his cellmate with a television in Wandsworth prison after violently attacking a man on Wimbledon Common has been handed a discretionary life sentence, but could be released in around six years.

Taras Nykolyn, 46, pleaded guilty on Friday, January 15, to the manslaughter of Wadid Barsoum in Wandsworth prison on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and inflicting grievous bodily harm on Roger Maxwell in Wimbledon Common.

He was due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday, February 5, but the Recorder of London Nicholas Hilliard QC was concerned not enough was known about his mental health, as doctors struggled to determine whether Nykolyn suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, or whether he is subjected to periods of paranoid psychosis when under pressure.

February 5: Wandsworth prisoner Taras Nykolyn sectioned after manslaughter of cell mate Wadid Barsoum and Wimbledon Common attack on Roger Maxwell

Today, Tuesday June 21, he was handed a discretionary life sentence at the Old Bailey by the Recorder, who made a hospital order under section 45A of the mental health act which will see Nykolyn kept in a high security medical facility.

He must serve a minimum of seven and a half years there, minus the 408 days he has already spent in jail.

Nykolyn, formerly of Meredith Street, Plaistow, did not have a previous history of mental health issues, but did have a history of drug and alcohol abuse.

The court previously heard Nykolyn attacked Mr Maxwell in a violent and unprovoked assault, chasing him and then forcing him to the ground as he walked through Wimbledon Common at 6.30am on June 19, 2014.

A witness, Russell Reed, who ran to Mr Maxwell’s aid, said he saw Nykolyn sat on Mr Maxwell’s chest and punching him in the head until his knuckles bled. He heard Mr Maxwell saying: “I’m a good person, I’ve done nothing wrong.”

Mr Maxwell, 51, of Putney, suffered a broken and dislocated left wrist, a fractured nose and significant bruising and swelling to his face in the attack.

Nykolyn was arrested and remanded in custody at Wandsworth Prison, and was due to stand trial at Kingston Crown Court on May 26, 2015.

On the morning of May 4, 2015, he killed his cellmate Wadid Barsoum, 66, hitting him on the head with a television.

Mr Barsoum’s post mortem examination showed a significant blunt assault to his head, face and neck, as well as fractures to both sides of his jaw. He also had severe neck injuries, with heavy bruising “probably caused by stamping on the neck”.

A prison officer reported that Nykolyn told him he “smashed his head with the telly.” When the officer asked why he had done that, Nykolyn replied: “I just looked in the mirror.”