A BLIND killer who took the life of a York mother in a brutal attack has died suddenly.

Anthony Stephen O'Connell, 37, a partially-sighted diabetic epileptic, died in the Cookridge area of Leeds on Sunday.

Leeds Coroner's Office said a post-mortem examination confirmed he had died from natural causes.

O'Connell battered his friend, Polish-born Krystyna Walton, 48, to death with his bare hands while in a drunken rage during a drinking session at his warden-controlled home in Bouthwaite Drive, Acomb, in September 1998. He admitted manslaughter after a charge of murder was dropped.

Seventeen bite marks were found on Mrs Walton's body, among 42 injuries. He had bitten her at least twice after she died, having choked on blood from her own broken nose.

O'Connell had told police he had grabbed Mrs Walton, who was a popular resident who lived in nearby Sowerby Road, by the neck, knelt on her and punched her four times to "stop her laughing".

Both had been drinking heavily and O'Connell claimed Mrs Walton had been violent towards him.

When he appeared in court in York earlier this year, his barrister, Paul Worsley QC described him as a manipulative man who had aggressive outbursts and a very low tolerance for anything he did not like.

O'Connell had been kept in custody after he was arrested for the killing, but a storm of protest followed in 1999 when judge Mr Justice Hooper freed O'Connell on bail saying he had suffered enough in prison because of his disabilities and should have a chance to prove he could live in the community. Later that year he was put on probation for three years for the killing.

But he failed to comply with the order and had been on remand in prison in Leeds since July last year until he appeared in court in January.

Between October 1999 and July 2000, a succession of hostels and residential homes across the North of England had asked O'Connell to leave because of his "unmanageable" behaviour.

As a result he was given a 12-month jail term but was released just days later due to the time he had spent on remand.

When O'Connell was given three years probation in 1999, neighbours who knew Mrs Walton were outraged.

At the time, Michelle Clayton, her next-door neighbour, told the Evening Press she felt he should have got five years in jail.

She said: "It is absolutely disgusting. It's awful. It's not justice and it's not right."

Other residents told how O'Connell was often abusive and would "fly off the handle" if anyone offered him help.

His funeral will be held at St James the Deacon Church, in Woodthorpe, on Tuesday next week and he will be buried in Fulford Cemetery. Donations at the service will go the British Heart Foundation.

Updated: 14:28 Friday, October 05, 2001