JAIL FOR MAN WHO STABBED EX-PARTNER
George Hassall, aged 22, launched a violent assault on a young woman, repeatedly punching and kicking her before drawing a 6cm folding knife and attempting to stab her in the forehead.During proceedings at Oxford Crown Court, prosecutor Matthew Knight explained that the attack could have been even more severe if the victim had not defended herself by using her hands to shield her neck from the blade.
The woman sustained five stab wounds, with three on her head and two on her hands.
She needed 26 stitches overall and bears permanent scars from the attack.
Additionally, her skull was fractured.
In a personal statement read aloud in court, she expressed her feelings of fear and loss, stating, “I feel what has happened has ruined my life.
I was attacked in the street, in broad daylight.
I don’t feel safe anymore.
How can I?” The victim, who had to exit the courtroom during the reading of her statement, had not yet regained full movement in a finger injured during the stabbing.
The court was informed that Hassall had arranged to meet her near her residence in Reading on November 24 of the previous year.
Hassall, driven by jealousy over a new relationship of the woman, became verbally abusive.
As they reached a bus stop on Wensley Road, he grabbed her coat and arm before punching her between 10 and 15 times in the face and head.
Mr.
Knight detailed that the woman described Hassall as furious at that moment.
She attempted to shield her face by raising her hands, but he pushed them aside and continued punching her.
The woman fell to the ground, after which Hassall kicked her multiple times on the back of her head, neck, and back.
He then produced a knife he had bought as a child, usually kept in his car door, because he was concerned the woman’s neighborhood was ‘rough’.
He stabbed at her in an attack that was captured on CCTV from a passing bus.
Neighbours responded quickly, helping the woman.
Paramedics found her conscious but fading in and out, and she expressed fears that she might die.
Later that day, Hassall was arrested while driving on the M40 motorway.
A psychiatric report attributed the attack to Hassall’s inability to cope with the rejection from the victim.
Prosecutor Knight summarized, “Seemingly unable to handle her rejection, he committed this vicious assault.” Hassall, who previously had no criminal record, was described as having committed an act out of character and expressed deep regret over using the knife.
Character references painted him as a “quiet, gentle, and kind” individual suffering from depression at the time.
He, formerly residing on Harts Lane, Burghclere, pleaded guilty to charges of wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.
Judge Michael Gledhill QC sentenced him to two years and eight months in prison, emphasizing that Hassall deliberately took the knife from his car door pocket, not for self-defense but possibly for use if needed, which was a serious discredit to him.
Despite his depression or possible autism traits and immaturity, the judge noted Hassall’s deliberate action of carrying the knife.
A restraining order was issued to prevent him from contacting the victim.
Commenting on the case, Det Con Jessica Rodgerson from the Reading police’s Domestic Abuse Investigation Unit praised the authorities’ response, acknowledging the significant injuries inflicted and the high level of force used in the attack.
