Fearsome blade owned by barman who tried to stab ‘ love rival’ to death
This savage weapon was part of a cache of blades owned by a would- be killer barman.
Alexander Cornell was convicted of attempted murder after he stabbed his boss’s boyfriend with a large ‘zombiestyle’ knife in a fit of jealousy.
Cornell had become infatuated with restaurant manager Claire spurgeon, repeatedly asking if she would date him over five years.
After the trial it emerged that the 27-year-old had a cache of swords and blades ‘in his bedstead’.
Among the weapons was a bat’leth – a fearsome curved blade used by the Klingons in the star Trek sci-fi franchise. it was bought in 2016 and shown off in a photo on Facebook. Asked what it was for, he replied: ‘Oh you don’t want to know lol.’
The loner frequently bought Ms spurgeon ‘extremely inappropriate’ gifts including underwear, a bikini and gymwear, despite her saying she was not interested in him, a court heard.
he joined three gyms as Ms spurgeon kept moving to avoid him and also used her photo as the wallpaper on his Apple watch.
staff at the Miller & Carter steakhouse in ipswich, revealed Cornell told them he was a virgin and dreamed of marrying his ‘bubbly and tactile’ boss.
But his obsession led to violence when mother- of- two Ms spurgeon rekindled her relationship with Blazej Piortowski following a brief split.
The restaurant chef was stabbed on the shoulder just beneath the neck as he checked the tyres on his car, leaving him needing stitches. Mr Piortowski said he had felt an ‘electric hot pain’ in his shoulder. Cornell, of ipswich, denied attempting to murder Mr Piortowski but was found guilty by a ten to two majority.
Judge Martyn Levett adjourned sentencing until March 9 but warned Cornell it would be ‘very long’. At ipswich Crown Court, stephen Rose, prosecuting, said the defendant was ‘infatuated to the point of obsession’ with his boss and intended to kill his victim in the ‘deliberate ambush’.
in a statement read to the court Ms spurgeon said that Cornell was ‘very odd and a bit like a child’.
Cornell had sent her gymwear on her last three birthdays, she added. When she told him off, he bought her flowers. A red dress was sent to her home, as well as a pink bikini which arrived two days before Mr Piortowski was attacked.