Teacher given 12-year jail term for ‘brutal and frenzied' knife attack
A teacher who brutally stabbed another teacher after failing to accept their on-off relationship was over has been jailed for 12 years.
Matthew Jones, 29, stabbed Emma Kirk, 25, around 15 times with a knife, inflicting injuries to her neck, head and face.
Bristol Crown Court heard Jones attacked Miss Kirk because he would not accept she did not want to see him again.
The attack was so brutal and frenzied it took five men to drag Jones off his victim and even then he tried to strangle her, jurors were told.
Sam Jones, prosecuting, said the two met at university, becoming 'really good friends' and later 'romantically involved' by being 'intimate on one or two occasions'.
The attack took place on February 26 last year in Bath, Somerset, after Miss Kirk told Jones she did not wish to see him again but agreed to meet to return gifts he had bought her.
'The attack was sustained and repeated and involved him stabbing her in the neck, face and head,' Mr Jones said.
'While on the ground he stabbed her 15 times in a brutal and frenzied attack. Witnesses described him as a 'man possessed'.
'Both of her lungs were punctured. She tried to fight back and she suffered multiple wounds to her hands as she grabbed at the blade.
'But for the way she fought back and for the bravery of others she would have been killed.
'He stabbed her multiple times to the neck – one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body.
'It took five men to drag the defendant off her and disarm him of the knife. Even then he continued to try and grab Emma and tried to strangle her when he was being pulled back.'
An off-duty police officer, members of the public and paramedics went to assist Miss Kirk in the lane close to Dransfield Way, and administered first aid.
'But for those actions, Emma's life would have been lost,' Mr Jones said.
'She had suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the defendant's attack upon her.'
Eyewitnesses filmed the aftermath of the attack and Miss Kirk can be heard saying 'I am going to die'.
Mr Jones said: 'He was arrested and when he was arrested, he told the police, 'Don't show me any respect. I am a monster. I don't deserve it'.'
In the run-up to the incident, the defendant had turned up to her place of work and would message her wanting to meet up, the court heard.
'Emma Kirk made it clear she did not want a relationship. She described it as him having an unhealthy obsession with her,' Mr Jones said.
'He could not take her 'no' to him as an answer so he decided that if she did not want to be with him, she wouldn't be with anyone else.'
Jones later told police it was Miss Kirk who had brought the knife to the scene, and he had taken it from her during a struggle in which they both ended up on the floor.
The defendant, of Ivy Avenue, Southdown, Bath, was found not guilty of attempted murder and having an article with a blade or point in a public place.
He previously admitted grievous bodily harm with intent – meaning he had intended to cause Miss Kirk serious harm but had not intended to kill her.
Michael Haynes, defending, said Jones had shown the 'appropriate level of remorse that one would expect'.
'He has seen the effect of the trial upon himself and his parents and the family of Emma and Emma herself,' he said.
'He is all too conscious of what happened, and it shouldn't have happened.'
In a victim impact statement, Miss Kirk said the impact of the attack had left her in a coma for a week.
'This was an awful episode and when I was heavily sedated, I didn't know whether I was dead or alive,' she said.
'My family were told by the surgeon that operated on me that the fact that I had survived the attack was a miracle.
'When I first woke up in hospital, I was absolutely terrified for mine and my family's safety.
'One of the hardest things trying to comprehend is that someone I trusted, a fellow teacher, could act in such a way.'
She added that as a result of the attack she had been unable to work for a year and had developed PTSD and depression.
Passing sentence, Judge Julian Lambert said Jones was 'dangerous' and passed an extended sentence comprising of a 12-year custodial term, with an extended licence period of four years – describing it as an 'extreme case'.
'There was an arrangement for you to meet and no one could have predicted what happened next which was a ferocious assault rarely seen before in the experience of the court.
'You pursued her and pulled her to the ground by her hair and while you were on top of her you stabbed her 15 times in a brutal and ferocious attack. You were described as a man possessed.
'What you did was so unpredictable and so mercilessly ferocious and persistent that I am left with the conclusion that you are dangerous.
'I have concluded that you will remain unpredictable for some considerable time.
'This was such an extreme reaction to a low level trigger that I consider that the risk is present for a considerable time to come.'
He will serve at least eight years in custody before he can apply for parole with the remainder of the sentence served on licence.
Jones was also made subject of an indefinite restraining order not to contact Miss Kirk.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Moment Bridgerton actress has her phone robbed by prolific Algerian thief in Joe & the Juice - before star heroically fights back in front of stunned customers
This is the moment a Bridgerton actress had her phone robbed by a prolific Algerian thief in Joe & the Juice - before the star heroically fought back in front of stunned customers. MailOnline can reveal for the first time CCTV of Genevieve Chenneour, 27, bravely defending herself after Zacariah Boulares, 18, snuck up behind her and grabbed her phone in the upmarket coffee shop on Kensington High Street, west London, on February 8. Around 18 months earlier, Boulares had threatened to behead Aled Jones with a machete as he stole his £17,000 Rolex in Chiswick, west London. The thief, then 16, was locked up for his attack on the Welsh chorister in October 2023 but was released from youth detention early after serving just 14 months of his 24-month sentence. Boulares, who can now be named and pictured after turning 18, has gone on to commit a spate of crimes, including robbing rising star Ms Chenneour, who plays rumour-monger Clara Livingston in hit Netflix period drama Bridgerton. The thug's extensive criminal history - 12 previous convictions relating to 28 offences - was laid bare after he pleaded guilty on May 29 to stealing Ms Chenneour's phone and assaulting another customer, Carlo Kurcishi. In exclusive footage obtained by MailOnline, the actress can be seen courageously fighting back against the hooded thief who targeted her while she was out with a friend on a dog walk. Speaking of the moment she fought off the teenage thug, Ms Chenneour previously told the Mail: 'They didn't expect me to stand up for myself – but I did.' CCTV footage shows brave the moment Bridgerton actress, Genevieve Chenneour fought back against the thug In the CCTV, Boulares can be seen prowling around the back of the café, waiting for Ms Chenneour's friend to leave her alone at the table when he ordered before he pounces. The hooded thief, wearing all black with a navy cap, then swipes the phone while Ms Chenneour has her back turned, but she quickly leaps into action and takes down the thief with the help of her friend. The fearless Yorkshire-born actress puts her arm out to block the thief from leaving and dislodges the phone from his hand. Retrieving the iPhone from off the floor, she then uses the device to strike Boulares who is left helpless on the floor. The commotion continued as shocked onlookers began to form a crowd in the popular café in Kensington. The tussle can then be seen spilling into the back of the café, where Ms Chenneour, her friend and Boulares can only be seen in CCTV in glimpses via a mirror. After around four minutes of scuffling, the humbled crook then points his finger in the face of Ms Chenneour's friend before walking out of the café without the phone. The actress previously revealed: 'I was left with a concussion just before the Screen Actors Guild Awards and since then, I've felt constantly on edge. 'Even my dog was traumatised - now, if anyone touches me, he panics and tries to protect me. 'Getting a coffee shouldn't be something you need your wits about you for. She courageously stood up to the thief, hitting him with the phone as he tussled with a man on the floor during the ordeal 'I'm so grateful to the staff at Joe & The Juice – they were incredible during the incident and when I went back to see them after.' Boulares appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court on May 29, where he pleaded guilty to stealing the phone and assaulting Mr Kurcishi. To the charge of stealing a mobile phone of a value unknown belonging to the Bridgerton actress, he shouted: 'Guilty'. He also admitted stealing a black leather hand bag from a diner at a pizza restaurant in London's West End on 30 January this year. The defendant has been remanded into custody with sentencing scheduled for June 17 at Isleworth Crown Court in west London. More than 70,000 phones were snatched in London in 2024, out of an estimated 100,000 thefts across the UK. Ms Chenneour is a former athlete who joined Team GB's artistic swimming team at the age of 15. She was awarded an Olympic scholarship before the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but her sporting career was cut short by injury and she retrained as an actress. After appearing as a stunt double in the underwater sequences of period feature Gateway To The West, she landed her breakthrough role in the Regency drama. A source was previously quoted as saying: 'Genevieve showed real bravery throughout. It was a very shocking incident. 'It shows what is happening on London's streets on a daily basis. 'This was just another young woman going about her daily business. She's handled it brilliantly.' Genevieve Chenneour, pictured here at the premiere of Netflix's The Gentlemen at London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane in March last year, had her phone stolen in February this year Boulares went on to rob Ms Chenneour after being released from youth detention for the attack on chorister Mr Jones on July 7 2023. The Algerian national threatened Mr Jones with a 20-inch blade, demanding the 'f***king Rolex' on the singer's arm, while threatening to cut his limb off. Boulares could not be named at the time due to his age. After the terrified baritone gave the menacing youth his Dayton, Boulares later said he would 'cut [Jones's] head off' if the Songs of Praise star continued to follow him. The now 18-year-old appeared late to magistrates court late several times before he eventually pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of an offensive weapon at Wimbledon Youth Court. It was also heard the youngster had also stolen a £20,000 gold Rolex from a pensioner. His record was dubbed 'appalling' by Chairman of the bench Rex Da Roach. A Detention and Training Order (DTO) can be handed to teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17, where they serve half of their time in custody and are later supervised, by a Youth Offending Team. However after only 14 months the Algerian national was freed, and later went on to commit a spate of crimes, including at Joe & the Juice. A spokesman for the Met Police said: 'Police were called to a restaurant on Kensington High Street on Saturday, 8 February following reports of a theft and an assault. 'CCTV showed the suspect stealing a phone from the table and then assaulting a separate member of the public who confronted him. 'The victim of the assault was kicked and punched before the suspect left the premises. 'CCTV enquiries identified Zacariah Boulares as the suspect and he was arrested.
Daily Mail
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Harold Shipman: New Mail podcast explores the 'unusual' early life of Doctor Death and the missed warning signs that foreshadowed his killing spree
On the latest episode of the Mail's 'An Appointment with Murder', forensic psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Johns and police surgeon Dr. Harry Brunjes interrogate the 'unusual' early life of serial killer Harold Shipman. They also examine how institutions failed to spot Shipman's increasingly erratic and suspicious behaviour, despite the trail of deaths that followed him from practice to practice. An Appointment with Murder is a brand-new true crime podcast that delves into the minds, methods, and motivations of medical murderers. Medical murderers are those who pervert their positions of trust, as doctors or nurses, to prey on the public. The season opens with a study of the infamous cases of doctors Harold Shipman and John Bodkin Adams. Shipman, a GP, is suspected of killing 215-250 patients between the years 1975 and 1998 by injecting them with lethal doses of diamorphine (medical heroin). Dr Andrew Johns, podcast co-host, was called to give expert testimony during the official inquiry into Shipman's murders. Adolescence Harold Shipman was born to a working-class family in Nottingham in 1946. He was the son of a lorry driver and the 'apple of his mother's eye', as Dr. Johns told the podcast. At 17, Shipman's mother, Vera, was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the time, there was no treatment for the illness apart from using opiates to manage pain. Dr Johns suspects that exposure to this class of drugs at a young age had a profound effect on the young man. He said: 'The GP would visit Vera at home and give her regular injections of morphine to relieve her pain. 'It's a highly addictive opiate that, in large doses, kills through respiratory depression. It simply stops you from breathing. 'Shipman witnesses the powerful effect of that drug on his mother and how it ultimately eases her passing. What impression did that doctor and needle have on him? ' When Vera succumbed to her cancer, it was Shipman who discovered her body coming home from school. To combat his grief, Shipman begins using Sloan's Liniment, a pain killer, recreationally. In high doses, the over-the-counter medication can produce a slight high. On the eve of moving to medical school, Dr John describes Shipman as an 'odd, reclusive chap'. Early Medical Career Shipman studies at Yorkshire's Pontefract General Infirmary and in 1971, is named House Officer of the hospital. Despite being only a Junior Doctor, Shipman certifies 133 deaths during his time at the hospital. As Dr Johns explains: 'As a Junior, Shipman is regarded as overconfident. The official inquiry conjectured that he started misusing the drug Pethidine around this time. 'Pethidine is also an opiate painkiller, but it's synthetic – it's prescribed for moderate to strong pain, unlike morphine, which is used for severe pain. 'At Pontefract, Shipman certifies 133 deaths. There's nothing particularly high about that number until you notice he was present at a third of all deaths. 'Junior Doctors are rarely present at the time of the death. Shipman was present at death 20 times more often than any other Junior Doctor.' After Pontefract, Shipman becomes a qualified GP and moves to Morton, a small town in Leeds, to work in a surgery. At this time, Shipman's judgment and general demeanour become more erratic with his addiction to opiates escalating. 'Shipman is dogmatic about his medical judgement. He's extremely critical of those he deems intellectually inferior', Dr Johns said. 'After several blackouts, including a collapse in front of patients, Shipman is found slumped over the wheel of his car. He claims he's epileptic. 'Following a routine audit, it is discovered that he has forged prescriptions for 30,000 milligrams of Pethidine. That is 600 normal doses.' Shipman admits to using the Pethidine recreationally and is fired and sent to a drug rehabilitation program in York. Despite a Magistrate's Court finding him guilty of forging prescriptions, the General Medical Council let Shipman off with a warning. He would then move to Hyde in Greater Manchester, again working as a GP, where the majority of his murders would take place.
Sky News
42 minutes ago
- Sky News
Ballymena protest: Fireworks, petrol bombs and glass bottles thrown at riot police as serious disorder deepens
Fireworks, petrol bombs and glass bottles have been thrown at riot police as unrest in Ballymena continued for a second night. Water cannon and plastic baton rounds were used to disperse hundreds of protesters in the Co Antrim town - with officers wearing armour and carrying shields. Several blazes were reported in the worst-affected areas, with cars set alight and house windows smashed. Police sirens continued to blare throughout the town past midnight. Clothes belonging to at least one protester caught fire during the disorder. Some properties displayed signs about the nationality of the residents inside - including one saying "British household". Sky correspondent Connor Gillies, who is in Ballymena, says some families have had to barricade themselves into the attics of their homes as the clashes worsen. "The talk here in this town is that it could go on for weeks yet," he added. The violent disorder started on Monday, following a peaceful protest supporting the family of a girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted in the area over the weekend. Two 14-year-old boys were charged with attempted rape and were remanded in custody when they appeared at Coleraine Magistrates' Court on Monday. The charges were read to them by a Romanian interpreter. The Police Service of Northern Ireland said on Tuesday that it had made a third arrest in connection with the alleged rape, and is continuing to urge anyone with information to come forward. The 28-year-old man has since been unconditionally released from custody following questioning. PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson described the scenes in Ballymena as "racist thuggery" and said the force was "actively working to identify those responsible" for the "racially motivated disorder". Mr Henderson said people from ethnic minorities have "felt fear" - and there will be a significant policing operation in the town in the coming days to reassure the community. At least 15 police officers were injured on Monday. A 29-year-old man was arrested during the unrest on Monday night and charged with riotous and disorderly behaviour, attempted criminal damage and resisting police. Mr Henderson said other arrests are expected following the examination of video footage. Local MP Jim Allister said tensions over immigration had been building for some time. Mr Henderson said there was no intelligence suggesting the disorder was orchestrated, but added that some at the protest were "clearly intent on violence" and had prepared petrol bombs and masonry to use as missiles. Downing Street said there was "no justification" for the violence. Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman said: "The disorder we saw in Ballymena is very concerning." He added: "Obviously, the reports of sexual assault in the area are extremely distressing, but there is no justification for attacks on police officers while they continue to protect local communities. "PSNI and the justice system must be allowed to carry out their jobs and our thoughts are with the victims of the assault as well as the police officers who were injured." Hilary Benn, secretary of state for Northern Ireland, said on X that the "terrible scenes of civil disorder" seen on Monday and Tuesday night "have no place in Northern Ireland".
