A jury will decide whether Ayodele Jamgbadi struck and killed 61‑year‑old railway worker Jorge Ortega, after Inner London Crown Court heard a judge found Jamgbadi unfit to enter a plea because he is mentally unwell and receiving hospital treatment.
Prosecutors say the incident occurred at about 8.45pm on December 4, 2024, at Ilford Station on the Elizabeth line. Court accounts state Jamgbadi missed a train bound for Stratford, became irate and began kicking an advertising display. Three station staff, including Mr Ortega, left their office to try to calm him down.
Patrick Dennis, prosecuting, told jurors that as Ortega moved back Jamgbadi struck him once in the face. The blow reportedly sent Ortega to the platform where he hit his head and lost consciousness. Paramedics took him to hospital, and he died from his injuries on December 6, 2024.
Jamgbadi, who gives an Ilford address on Kingston Road, was arrested at the scene and initially charged with causing grievous bodily harm. The charge was upgraded to murder after Ortega’s death. Judge Benedict Kelleher told the jury that because of Jamgbadi’s mental condition he cannot enter a plea or be tried in the usual way, so jurors must determine whether Jamgbadi carried out the act that resulted in Ortega’s death.
The court heard that when questioned by British Transport Police, Jamgbadi said, "I punched him in the face, I literally punched him in the face." He also asked officers, "What are you going to do about it, are you going to nick me?" Those statements form part of the prosecution case alongside CCTV material that prosecutors say captured the events leading up to the confrontation.
With a fitness-to-plead finding in place, the trial will not proceed on a standard guilty or not guilty plea. Instead the jury’s verdict on whether Jamgbadi committed the act that caused Mr Ortega’s death will determine the next legal steps in the case.
