A drug dealer earning £10,000-a-month while on benefits stamped to death a mother in a random attack when he was high on cannabis, a court has heard.
Chukwuemeka Ahanonu, 23, launched a vicious assault on 56-year-old mother Nila Patel, whom he did not know, moments after flipping his BMW on its roof in broad daylight in Leicester city centre on June 24 last year.
She died in hospital two days after suffering brain damage.
Ahanonu, of Dover Street, Leicester, denies murder, but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.
Opening the case for the prosecution at Leicester Crown Court on Monday, Mary Prior said Ahanonu ran a 'significant' drugs business - but still claimed universal credit.
She told jurors the fatal attack took place after the defendant escaped injury when the car he was driving overturned near Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Ms Patel, who was 5ft 4ins, 'was viciously attacked by this defendant', she told the court.
The prosecutor said of Ahanonu: 'He was a complete stranger to her. This happened in broad daylight in Leicester city centre.
'She had just got off the bus on her way home and was walking along the road, talking on the telephone to her dear friend.
'She was pulled from behind by the defendant, punched in the face with such severity that she fell on to the pavement. She was then kicked and stamped on as she lay on the floor… stamped on in her face.'
Ms Prior added: 'Valiant attempts by paramedics and then doctors to treat the severe brain and facial injuries caused by the attack sadly failed.
'The brain damage that she suffered killed her two days later. The defendant killed Nila Patel by punching her, by kicking her and by stamping on her.
'She did nothing to cause the attack and could not defend herself.'
The court was told the defendant paid for his flat, his BMW, his living expenses and his regular use of cannabis, with his outgoings 'mostly' funded by selling cannabis.
Nila Patel, 56, was killed in a vicious attack by Chukwuemeka Ahanonu, 23, who was a stranger to her
The fatal attack took place after the defendant escaped injury when the car he was driving overturned near Leicester Royal Infirmary
Ms Prior said Ahanonu, who was also in receipt of universal credit, claimed he could earn £10,000 a month from drug-dealing to more than 250 customers.
The prosecutor told the jury: 'That is a significant business and he ran it successfully. He even had packages that stopped cannabis from smelling so he could post his sales.'
Outlining the issues for the jury to consider during what is expected to be a month-long trial, the prosecutor said Ahanonu had lived in Leicester for several years and at the time of the killing 'had smoked lots of cannabis'.
She added: 'He had driven dangerously in the city and then crashed the car he was driving, which caused the car to turn upside down.
'He was not injured in the crash.
'He got out of the car and ran up the middle of the road towards Nila and attacked her.
'Some of the attack was caught on the body-worn camera of one of the security guards from the Leicester Royal Infirmary who had gone to help anyone involved in the car collision which the defendant caused.
'The end of the attack was filmed by a member of the public on their mobile telephone.
'There were lots of people in and about Leicester, near to the Leicester Royal Infirmary, on that afternoon and you will hear from them.
'The defendant killed Nila Patel. He says that at the time of the attack he did not intend to kill her or to cause her really serious bodily harm.
'So, firstly we have to prove to you so that you are sure that he did intend her really serious harm or to kill her.
'We will do that by calling evidence from the eyewitnesses who saw it and by showing you the footage that was recorded. We say there can be no doubt that this is what he intended.
'What else could you intend when you are repeatedly stamping on the head of a prone woman?'
Setting out details of Ahanonu's expected defence, Ms Prior said he was likely to argue that he was developing schizophrenia.
Ms Prior said the defence had indicated an intention to demonstrate that at the time of the killing Ahanonu had a partial defence to murder of 'diminished or reduced' responsibility.
She added: 'If that is so, then the defendant would be guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter, to which he has pleaded guilty.
'They will argue that the defendant suffered from an abnormality of mental functioning and that that arose from a recognised medical condition.'
Alleging that the defendant had acted as he did because he had taken a lot of cannabis, Ms Prior told the jury: 'The voluntary consumption of a substance which causes you to act in a way that you would not act when sober is not a defence to murder because an intoxicated intent is still an intent.'
Mrs Patel's children, son Jaiden and daughter Danika, paid tribute to her last year, describing her as 'one of the most kind-hearted people you could ever meet'.
They said: 'We are heartbroken, but we want the world to know who our mum truly was - a beautiful, vibrant soul who deserved so much more.
'She was a devoted mother, a loyal friend, and an incredibly hard worker.'
The trial continues.
