Anita Mukhey, who worked part-time for the National Health Service (NHS) as a medical secretary, was waiting at the Burnt Oak Broadway bus stop in the Edgware area of London on May 9 when the accused, Jalal Debella, stabbed her fatally in the chest and neck.

According to reports, people at the scene screamed and shouted at the suspect to stop as the daylight attack sent shockwaves across the community.

“Police were called at around 11:50hrs on Thursday, 9 May, to reports of a stabbing in Burnt Oak Broadway,” news agency PTI quoted the Metropolitan Police as saying.

“Officers, London Ambulance Service (LAS) and London’s Air Ambulance (HEMS) all attended the scene, where a 66-year-old woman was treated for knife wounds. Sadly, despite the best efforts of emergency services, she died at the scene. Her family have been informed,” the police said.

Debella was arrested on suspicion of murder in the Colindale area of north London later on May 9 and charged with Anita Mukhey’s murder and also for possession of an offensive weapon.

Jalal Debella appeared at the Old Bailey Court in London and will enter his plea of guilty or not guilty at the next hearing in the case scheduled for August.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) told the court that a preliminary cause of death was found to be sharp force injuries to the front of the chest and neck.