A woman who stabbed a pensioner to death after absconding from a mental health unit was not thought to pose a threat of violence to others, an inquest has heard.

Emma Borowy, 32, killed 74-year-old Roger Leadbeater as he walked his dog, Max, in a park in Sheffield on 9 August 2023.

Sheffield Coroner’s Court heard Ms Borowy, had absconded from a ward at Royal Bolton Hospital on numerous occasions before she attacked Mr Leadbeater, and was twice found with knives when she was located by police.

However, Dr Hayley Thomas, a consultant psychiatrist, said concerns associated with her going missing were connected to her “vulnerability, risks to her health, and substance misuse” and the fear she was at risk of committing violence in the community “wasn’t a real concern for us”.

The inquest heard how Ms Borowy, who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis, was sectioned in October 2022 and admitted to Oak Ward at the Royal Bolton after she was arrested for killing two goats with a knife.

Dr Thomas said Ms Borowy, who had been known to mental health services since 2008, had told police she had killed the goats “as a way of ensuring her own survival”.

Ms Borowy admitted the offence, but showed no remorse, the hearing was told.

Police officers later found teddy bears floating in a bathtub when they searched her house, as well as a “shrine” to unicorns.

She had previously told social workers she could communicate with animals, with Dr Thomas telling the hearing they had been concerned Ms Borowy had been sleeping in a forest prior to her hospital admission.

The hearing was told that Ms Borowy went on to abscond from secure units at the Royal Bolton on at least eight occasions.