Man must stay in hospital after headteacher stabbing
AMAN who repeatedly stabbed a headteacher with a screwdriver in her driveway will stay in hospital after she told a judge she fears he will attack her again given the chance.
Mark Pierson, 55, launched a “terrifying” attack on Gillian Kay in April 2013 when she stepped out of her car on her return from work.
He landed blows to her face, head and neck as she fell to the ground after he told her: “I’m going to kill you, you f***ing bitch”.
Pierson only stopped when a local builder witnessed the struggle as he drove by and jumped out of his vehicle to intervene.
The defendant, who lived with his parents next door in Shaw Road, Rochdale, had long-running issues with Mrs Kay and her family and had delusional beliefs they were persecuting him.
He had previously threatened to kill Mrs Kay while holding a hammer, and in 2010 was convicted of dangerous driving and sentenced to a community order after she dived for cover when he drove his car towards her as she walked her dog.
Following the screwdriver attack, the paranoid schizophrenic was unfit to stand trial but was sentenced in February 2014 to an indefinite hospital order after a jury made a finding of fact that he had wounded Mrs Kay.
However, he was judged mentally fit last year after ongoing treatment at medium-secure Prestwich Hospital
and the case was relisted as he went on to plead guilty to the wounding charge.
Mrs Kay attended his fresh sentencing at Manchester Crown Court yesterday as she sat in the public gallery out of sight from Pierson, who was in the dock flanked by hospital staff.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, she explained Pierson had left her with “life-long physical and mental scars”.
She said: “It was not the first time he tried to hurt me. Over a period of 10 years, episodes of violence and aggression were reigned on me and my family at my home.
“I lived in fear of Mark prior to the incident. I was fearful of him and his unpredictable behaviour to me, and I continue to be fearful now for I believe if he has the opportunity to hurt me again he will.
“I firmly believe I am only here because a member of the public saw the attack and stopped to assist me. He would have killed me. I thank God someone came along and stopped Mark in his tracks.”
Judge Patrick Field QC said the circumstances of the attack were “quite terrifying” and was “pre-meditated and determined”, but he concluded “with a degree of hesitation” that the emphasis must be on treatment rather than punishment.
He said medical evidence showed Pierson continues to be mentally ill and presents a risk but that was being mitigated by specialist treatment.
A custodial sentence would likely lead to his ultimate release into the community without the “safety net” of such forensic mental health services, he said.
Judge Field ruled Pierson should stay at Prestwich Hospital and can only be released if the Secretary of State is satisfied he no longer poses a danger.
He said from what he had read, that appeared “unlikely in the foreseeable future”.
Any discharge would be on a conditional basis with lifelong supervision and he could be subject to recall to hospital at any time, the judge added.
Pierson must also abide by a restraining order which prevents him from contact with Mrs Kay and her family.