In May 2008, anti-gun activist Pat Regan was viciously stabbed by her own grandson, Rakeim Regan, at her house in Leeds. Pat, whose son had been killed in a gang shooting years earlier, was attacked by the perpetrator who she was caring for after he had been admitted to hospital. Rakeim was later diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.In her first TV appearance, daughter of the victim and mother of Rakeim, Franky Fenton, discusses the case alongside her brother Shane Fenton, who is continuing his mother’s legacy through his charitable projects and endeavours. Following the crime, Rakeim was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.Includes interviews with: Franky Fenton (daughter of victim / mother of offender), Shane Fenton (son of victim) and Patsy McKie (friend of Pat’s and fellow campaigner for Mothers Against Violence).
Losing a loved one to any kind of violent crime is always a tragedy, but when the killer is your son, and the victim is your mother, that tragedy increases exponentially.
For Frankie Regan Lamb, the death of her mother Pat Regan, 53, in 2008 came out of the blue. When Pat, a prolific anti-violence campaigner, failed to show up to an event she was due to attend, the alarm was raised. Frankie immediately went over to her mother’s home in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Once there, she was given the devastating news that Pat had been stabbed during the preceding night, and had died as a result of her wounds. And as if things couldn’t get worse, Frankie was informed that her 20-year-old son Rakeim was the prime suspect.
Pat and Rakeim had always been close – he was her first grandchild and Pat doted on him from birth. Rakeim had been a gentle child, but as he grew older, he had become drawn to the gang lifestyle he was surrounded by in his neighbourhood.
As a teenager, Rakeim idolised his uncle Danny, a well-known figure in the gangland scene in Leeds. Impressed by Danny’s ‘celebrity’ lifestyle, Rakeim’ began to change and despite Frankie and Pat’s best efforts, he seemed determined to follow in his uncle’s footsteps.
In 2002, Danny was killed in what appeared to be a gangland-style execution. Rakeim was deeply affected by the loss of his uncle. He began to truant from school, started drinking and taking drugs, and struggled in this way for several years after Danny’s death, railing at the injustice of his murderers never being caught, all the while buckling under the weight – and expectation – that came with the Regan name.
In early 2008, Rakeim, now 21-years-old, was stabbed during a fight at a house party. Found collapsed on the street, with wounds to his hands, face and legs, the attack had been severe. However, despite his numerous injuries, Rakeim refused to reveal the name of his attacker.
After the attack, Rakeim’s mental state deteriorated rapidly. He began to hear voices and started to talk about stabbing and killing people. Having moved in with Pat after he was stabbed, she had become afraid of what Rakeim might do if she let him out of the house.
On May 31 2008, Rakeim was found running maniacally through the streets. What Frankie and Pat had thought were signs of depression were in fact the hallmarks of paranoid schizophrenia, and Rakeim now posed a serious threat, not only to himself, but to those closest to him. Pat, recognising that he needed help, took Rakeim to the hospital for a psychological assessment, where they were assured that he would be fine to go home, and that the mental health team would visit them at home the next day.
The next morning – June 1, 2008 – Pat’s body was found at her home. She had been stabbed in the neck, and died almost instantly. Rakeim was found not much later at Leeds train station, covered in blood and armed with a knife, having stabbed a train guard who had tried to restrain him. Arrested on suspicion of killing his grandmother, it transpired that she had been trying to stop Rakeim leaving the house, and he had stabbed her in the ensuing struggle.
Rakeim pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act. For the Regan family, Rakeim’s deterioration didn’t just take Pat from them, it robbed them of a gentle, beloved little boy as well.
