A mentally ill man has admitted the brutal and unprovoked knife killing of an eminent biologist who had become a father for the first time just days before his death.

Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, was stabbed to death outside his Holloway home on December 29 last year after going out to post cards to friends and family to inform them of the recent birth of his daughter Fleur.

Woolwich man Timchang Nandap launched an unprovoked attack with a large, black-handled knife, repeatedly stabbing the lecturer as Dr Ensink’s wife Nadja was at home with the baby awaiting his return.

Dr Ensink, who was originally from the Netherlands, was pronounced dead at the scene in Hilldrop Crescent shortly after 2pm in the afternoon.

Yesterday (Thursday) Nandap, also known as Femi, 23, admitted manslaughter at the Old Bailey but he denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility – a plea that was accepted by the Crown.

Appearing via video link from Broadmoor, the high-security psychiatric hospital in Berkshire, Nandap, dressed in a black hoodie and wearing glasses, spoke only to plead and to confirm his name. He will be sentenced on October 10.

In a statement released after the hearing, Detective Chief Inspector Jamie Piscopo, of the Met’s Homicide and Major Crime Command, said: “Dr Ensink left his home that lunchtime to post a number of cards to friends and family to inform them of the recent birth of his daughter. What should have been the happiest time of Jeroen’s life was ended by the violent and unprovoked actions of Nandap.

“Jeroen had only walked a short distance when he was approached by Nandap, who launched into a vicious attack with a knife. He did not stand a chance, and now, sadly, his daughter will grow up without her father in her life.”

Dr Ensink, a popular senior lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, devoted his professional life to improving water sanitation in developing countries.

He had been a lecturer in public health engineering at the world-leading centre for research and postgraduate education since 2008. He was leading a large study in the Democratic Republic of Congo to understand how improvements in water supply could control and prevent cholera outbreaks.

The news of his shocking death provoked an avalanche of tributes from friends and students, as well as colleagues across the globe.

Speaking at the time of his death, Walter Gibson, 63, a close friend and colleague who had carried out research with Dr Ensink in Tanzania and Vietnam, said: “Jeroen was in the prime of his career and it’s so sad it’s been cut short. He had a very full programme of teaching and research and he liked that combination.

“He was a wonderful person, very charming. He had a great sense of fun and a generous nature. He was a very open and positive person and was very generous with his time with everybody, particularly his students.”

At the request of Dr Ensink’s family the school established the Jeroen Ensink Memorial Fund, which will be used to support MSc scholarships for students from sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. More than £21,000 has been raised so far.

The family declined to comment when contacted by the Tribune this week.

• Keywords
  KNIFE CRIME, MURDER
• Geographical keyword
  HILLDROP CRESCENT
• Persons keyword
  Jeroen Ensink, Dr, Femi Nandap