Bulgarian who beheaded Briton taken to psychiatric unit

A 28-year-old Bulgarian national, with a history of mental illness, was taken to a psychiatric unit Sunday after he was charged with stabbing and beheading a 60-year-old retired woman from Britain in Los Cristianos, Tenerife on Friday.

Deyan Valentinov Deyanov attacked Jennifer Mills-Westley of Norfolk while she was shopping at a Chinese-owned store, police said. A law-enforcement source told The Sunday Times that just before the incident Mills-Westley had sought help at an employment center, where she complained that she was being followed by Deyanov. After the man was sent away, she walked out of the center and into the shop.

"He grabbed a large kitchen knife from the shelf and stabbed her at least 14 times in the neck without saying a word," the source told the Times. The attacker ran down the street with the woman's head before he was tackled by a security guard.

The Bulgarian national, who lived in an abandoned building, was known for the problems that he had caused many residents.

According to local news reports, people knew that Deyanov was dangerous and was mentally ill. He had reportedly attacked other people in the past.