He left school aged 14 or 15 and obtained employment at a clothes stall, later moving on to teach cooking lessons at his local soup kitchen.

In 1994, Bryan was sent to Rampton Secure Hospital after admitting to the murder of 21-year-old shop assistant Nisha Sheth, who was beaten to death with a hammer in 1993.

[1] By February 2001, the nursing staff thought he had made considerable progress regarding his "behaviour, attitude, maturity, relationships, anger and insight."

Bryan was transferred from Rampton in June 2001 to the John Howard Centre after a six-month trial leave project agreed by the Home Office.

[2] After applying to a Mental Health Review Tribunal in 2002, Bryan was moved to the Riverside Hostel in north London where he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.