Before Beheading, Attacker Asked for Large Knife

Friend says Deyan Deyanov loved sci-fi film, decapitation scenes

(NEWSER) - Deyan Deyanov, the man accused of beheading British grandmother Jennifer Mills-Westley on Tenerife last Friday, was obsessed with the movie Predator and may have been trying to copy its decapitation attacks, a friend says. Deyanov, 28, even had a tattoo on his arm featuring characters from the film’s fictional language; he especially enjoyed the way the alien in the movie beheaded its victims. Similarly disturbing: He made a cellphone video four years ago stating, “I don’t like human beings," the Telegraph reports. More»

Jennifer Mills-Westley alerted security guard to threats

(NEWSER) - Before the horrifying attack that took her life Friday, Jennifer Mills-Westley took refuge in a social security office and told a security guard there that a vagrant had threatened her. But after waiting for her tormentor to move on, Mills-Westley left and entered the discount store next door. There, 28-year-old homeless man Deyan Valentinov Deyanov found her again and attacked her, claiming to be “a prophet of God” as he beheaded the 60-year-old retiree. Authorities know of no reason Mills-Westley was targeted, and one official says she was “chosen … by chance.” More»

Canary Islands attack appears to be random

(NEWSER) - A truly horrifying story out of the Canary Islands: A man emerged from a supermarket there yesterday morning holding a human head. The suspect, a homeless Bulgarian man with a police record identified as Deyan Valentinov, apparently beheaded a British woman in a random attack on the Spanish resort island of Tenerife. Valentinov was captured by security guards after he ran out of the supermarket and arrested. He is believed to have entered the shop and stolen a knife that he then used to assault the woman, whose identity hasn't been released. More»

(NEWSER) - Saudi Arabian authorities decapitated and publicly displayed a convicted killer last night, drawing fire from Amnesty International, CNN reports. A state press agency said Ahmed Al-Shamlani Al-Anzi was sentenced for murdering an 11-year-old boy and his father. The Saudis likely sewed Al-Anzi's head back on before his display, or "crucifixion," which is intended to deter future crimes, an Amnesty researcher said. More»

(NEWSER) - A man on the Greek island of Santorini allegedly carried his girlfriend's head through the streets before police shot and apprehended him, the BBC reports. The 35-year-old is said to have decapitated his girlfriend, a teacher in her 20s, slashed an officer, and stolen a police jeep—which he crashed into two women, injuring both seriously. Police have not named him but say he has a history of domestic violence. More»