DAGENHAM FAMILY HORROR: MAN SLASHED WIFE AND TWO CHILDREN AFTER ‘POPPY SEED TEA’ AND VODKA.

19th September 202619th September 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Dagenham, Horror, Knife Crime, Mental health min read

A Dagenham man who slashed his wife and two young children in a horrific knife attack after drinking poppy seed tea and vodka has been ordered to spend the rest of his life in a secure hospital.

Kulvinder Ram, 50, of First Avenue, Dagenham, launched the terrifying attack on 25 October 2024, leaving his wife and their two children with injuries so serious that all three required surgery.

On Friday 18 September, Judge Mark Lucraft KC ordered Ram to be detained in a secure hospital without limit of time under the Mental Health Act.

The case has now come to a conclusion nearly two years after the shocking attack which unfolded inside the Dagenham family home.

But the horrifying details heard during the proceedings reveal just how close the incident came to becoming an even greater tragedy.

A terrifying attack

Ram attacked his wife and children with a knife inside their home in First Avenue.

His two-year-old son suffered a serious wound to his neck, while his eight-year-old daughter was slashed across the face.

Ram’s wife was also attacked, suffering a deep injury to her neck.

The woman managed to escape the house with blood visible on her neck and raised the alarm.

She shouted that Ram was killing her and cried out for her baby.

Inside the property, the toddler was found on top of a dining table covered in blood and suffering from a gaping wound to his neck.

The injuries were so serious that doctors feared one of the victims might not survive.

All three ultimately required surgery.

The attack was stopped after an off-duty Metropolitan Police Special Sergeant happened to be walking home from work.

Special Police Sergeant Seff Serroukh saw the woman and her daughter covered in blood.

At first, from a distance, he believed he could have been witnessing a Halloween prank.

Then he realised what was actually happening.

He immediately ran towards them.

With no protective equipment and no colleagues alongside him, the off-duty officer confronted Ram and managed to restrain him until other police officers arrived.

‘I knew I had to act quickly’

SPS Serroukh later described the moment he realised children were involved.

He said:

“When I became aware children were involved, I knew I had to act quickly.”

He also told how he had no safety equipment or colleagues to assist him, but acted instinctively as both a father and police officer.

His intervention has been praised by detectives involved in the investigation.

Detective Constable Lewis Whitlock said the investigation had left police in no doubt that Ram intended to kill those he targeted.

He also credited the off-duty officer with potentially preventing further, and possibly fatal, injuries.

A member of the public also entered the property and helped stem one of the victim’s bleeding.

The poppy seed tea

The latest court reporting has revealed another disturbing element of the case.

The court heard that Ram had been drinking tea made from unwashed poppy seeds and had also consumed vodka before the attack.

The Sun reported that Ram described himself as a habitual drinker of poppy seed tea and that a small amount of morphine was detected in his blood.

The combination was part of the evidence surrounding his state of mind at the time of the attack.

However, the court also heard that Ram had been suffering from previously undiagnosed schizophrenia.

He had become increasingly paranoid and erratic in the period before the attack.

He believed he was being watched by cameras and was experiencing auditory hallucinations.

The court heard that his delusions also involved black magic.

Two weeks before the attack, Ram had threatened to kill one of the victims.

The victims left with permanent scars

While Ram’s mental health was examined during the proceedings, the consequences for his family have been permanent.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, his wife described the physical and emotional scars left by what happened.

She said:

“I don’t know how we got here. Your actions have changed everything.”

She described the scar left on the side of her neck and said that seeing it in the mirror causes her distress.

Her daughter has also been left with permanent scarring to her face.

And her young son has scars around his neck.

The woman told the court that she could bear what had happened to her but said her daughter should never have had to experience what happened.

She said she would never understand why Ram had carried out the attack.

Convicted of attempted murder

Ram was found guilty following a four-week trial at the Old Bailey in May this year.

The jury convicted him of attempting to murder his wife and his two-year-old son.

He was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to his eight-year-old daughter.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed that all three victims had suffered serious injuries requiring surgery.

Ram has now been detained indefinitely in a secure hospital.

The order was made under the Mental Health Act by Judge Mark Lucraft KC.

It means there is no fixed release date for Ram.

The off-duty officer who ran towards the danger

For residents in Dagenham, one of the most remarkable aspects of the case is how the attack was brought to an end.

SPS Serroukh was not working at the time.

He was simply walking home.

Then he saw two blood-covered victims running in the road.

Instead of walking away from the danger, he ran towards it.

He confronted a man who had just attacked three members of his own family, without knowing whether Ram was armed or what he might do next.

He managed to hold him until colleagues arrived.

Detective Constable Whitlock said that without the officer’s intervention, he believed Ram could have gone on to inflict further and potentially fatal injuries.

A member of the public who entered the property to help the injured victims was also praised for their actions.