Student so terrified by knife thug she left city
A FORMER Manchester student quit her job and left the city after a vile thug beat her up and robbed her at knifepoint in her own home.
Phoebe Gibby, 22, was pinned down on her bed and repeatedly punched about the face after Liam Gibbons went back to her house late at night and burst in wielding a kitchen knife and demanding her MacBook, after he spotted her working on it through a window earlier that day.
During the terrifying raid in Fallowfield, Gibbons, who disguised himself with a hoodie and scarf across his face, ransacked the victim’s room.
Miss Gibby who was due to graduate at Manchester University, had to have nine stitches to a mouth wound and was left with a broken nose.
Gibbons, 27, was arrested later after he attempted to use the victim’s bank card. At Manchester Crown Court, Miss Gibby relived her ordeal as she saw Gibbons jailed for ten-and-a-half years. She told the hearing: “The attack on me has had a great effect on me and continues to do so daily. I want only to be able to move on and forget but I am unable to do so.
“I’ve had several doctor appointments including having to have my nose pushed back into place which was very triggering for me and made me relive the feeling of being pushed down on my bed. The physical injuries have now healed but the psychological injuries have not. Every time I look at my face I remember what happened. Most of my life I have suffered from anxiety and depression and this attack has made that worse. I no longer feel safe in my home or in my mind. I quit my job and also left Manchester as I no longer felt safe.
“Walking home at night or sudden panic when walking past a stranger or when someone would walk up behind me. I am so confused by the violence of this crime – for something as inconsequential as a laptop.
“I went to bed that night feeling safe and all I keep thinking about is what followed – his absolute determination to get in my room, him pushing me down onto my bed, being unable to move under the strength and size of his body, and then when he left. He turned to see me covered in blood with my face swollen and I asked him why he was doing this and he just called me a ‘crazy b***h.’”
Gibbons had 19 previous offences on his record including the robbery of a 14-year-old girl for her mobile phone. He had also previously served a four-year stretch for drugs offences.
His lawyer Robert Kearney said: “The defendant had a bad drug habit and that was the motivation. He wants to apologise for what he put her through.” Sentencing the judge Mr Recorder John Jones QC told Gibbons: “The author of a report says you deliberately targeted this victim because it was a student accommodation and you knew you would encounter individuals with valuable electronic devices.
“He thinks you derived pleasure from having control of your victim over a prolonged period. It is my duty to protect the public from the likes of you.”