Knifeman’s stab fury for stranger
MENTALLY ILL ATTACKER PUNCTURED VICTIM’’S LUNG
A KNIFEMAN who stabbed a total stranger in the head and neck in an unprovoked attack has been sent to a mental health hospital.
Joseph McDowell, who has paranoid schizophrenia, attacked his victim with a knife and punctured his lung.
The two men were standing in line in the early hours of the morning outside a Bargain Booze in High Street, Tibshelf.
McDowell, who lived on the same road, became irate and started swearing at his victim just for joining the queue behind him.
The 24-year-old snapped when the victim took a drag from his electronic cigarette. He took out a red kitchen knife and stabbed him in the head and neck.
Dawn Pritchard, prosecuting, said: “In the early hours of the morning on March 16, 2019, the victim could not sleep and so at 3.30am he went to his local 24-hour petrol station to buy some cider. The shop is a Bargain Booze. He went there with his dog.”
While he was waiting to be served, McDowell was standing in front of him in the queue, Derby Crown Court heard via Skype.
Miss Pritchard said: “The defendant turned round and said: ‘You should not be f ****** sneaking up on people, you’ll get into bother.’ He was acting loud and abrupt. The defendant asked the victim his name and he told him.”
The victim then took a drag from his electronic cigarette which angered the defendant more.
The prosecution said McDowell turned round and said: “F ****** sniffing like that, it’s rude.”
McDowell then took out a red kitchen knife with a five- or six-inch blade and went for the victim, it was said.
The prosecution outlined how he aimed for his head and neck.
Miss Pritchard continued: “After that, the victim grabbed the defendant’s arm and did not let go. The men fell to the ground. They were on the floor and the victim held on to the defendant’s wrists with his hands.”
McDowell struggled to be released from the grip of the victim, who was holding on to protect himself.
McDowell was even heard to offer the victim £10,000 if he let go, promising that he would not stab him. Eventually, the victim felt so weak that he had to let go, and McDowell fled.
The victim struggled to stand due to his injuries and waited until an ambulance arrived.
Paramedics rushed him to
Queen’s Medical Centre, in Nottingham where it was discovered that he had suffered a punctured lung. He also had bad lacerations to his neck and head, and wounds to his shoulder. The injuries kept the victim in hospital for two weeks.
Summarising a statement from the victim, Miss Pritchard said: “Prior to this incident the victim suffered from anxiety and depression. They have got worse since. He now only goes out to the doctor’s or if he needs something essential.
“He does not answer the door and when he goes out he does not want to say anything to anyone in case they pull a knife on him.”
Officers found McDowell at another service station in Sutton-inAshfield after his mother called the police on him. He was found with blood on his hands, but no knife, and arrested.
McDowell, now 25, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife.
He has previous offences stretching back to 2012 for possession of an offensive weapon, robbery, assaulting a police officer, possession of cannabis and criminal damage.
Stephen Kemp spoke on behalf of McDowell. He mentioned that McDowell would prefer to be sent to prison rather than a mental health hospital.
But a forensic psychiatrist who studied McDowell’s condition confirmed a hospital order was more appropriate, as he suffers from schizophrenia with paranoid delusions.
Judge Shaun Smith QC said: “You have pleaded guilty to a very serious offence of section 18 wounding. This was a savage attack on an innocent man who had gone to the garage in order to buy something because he could not sleep. It was a persistent attack that left him with very serious injuries, and it has significantly affected the way he lives his life.
“Under normal circumstances, you would be looking at a very long period of imprisonment, but you are mentally ill.
“You suffer from a recognised mental disorder, which is schizophrenia.”
A hospital order lasts indefinitely until doctors can confirm that the person is no longer a threat to society. It is not a custodial sentence.
This was a savage attack on an innocent man that left him with very serious injuries
Judge Shaun Smith