Crime
Courage of girl who tackled father during knife attack
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| JAILED: John Mayhew, who attacked his former wife with a hunting knife |
A JUDGE and police have praised the
bravery of an 11-year-old girl who
tackled her jealous father to stop him
stabbing her mother to death.
Rebecca Mayhew disarmed her father
John after he had plunged a
hunting knife into the chest and
stomach of his former wife, Ailsa.
Mayhew tried to get another knife
from a kitchen unit but, Rebecca
slammed his hand in a drawer, which
allowed her and her mother to flee.
The drama unfolded after Mrs
Mayhew dropped their daughter off
at her ex-husband's home in Bishop
Auckland, County Durham, last
November.
She was planning to go out for the
night with friends to celebrate her
birthday and Mayhew had agreed to
look after Rebecca, a court was told
yesterday.
Teesside Crown Court heard that
former miner Mayhew was unable to
come to terms with the break-up of
their marriage and his wife seeing
someone new.
The 49-year-old had bought the
knife from a sports shop on the afternoon
of the stabbing and hid it by
the side of a microwave oven.
When Mrs Mayhew, 45, and Rebecca
arrived at his home in Bridge
Street, he asked their daughter to go
upstairs and tidy her room.
Then without warning he reached
for the knife and told his former wife:
"I got this for our Paul but I think I'll
give it to you."
Richard Bennett, prosecuting, said
Mayhew lunged forward and stabbed
her once, before the couple wrestled
and he stabbed her again.
Mayhew ended up on top of his victim
and was trying to kill her, but
her screams alerted Rebecca
and she ran downstairs. "At this
stage, in what the Crown says was a
remarkable act of bravery, she ran
into the kitchen and got hold of her
father's head," said Mr Bennet.
"As he attacked her mother, Rebecca
put her hands over his nose
and mouth to restrict his breathing
and started pulling him off."
Mrs Mayhew struggled free after
Rebecca began punching and kicking
her father, but he pulled her back
by the hair.
The schoolgirl's struggles forced
Mayhew to drop the knife and she
threw it from the house. He tried to
get a replacement from a drawer
until she intervened again.
Mr Bennett said Rebecca's actions
saved her mother's life - an opinion
later supported by the judge and
Durham Police.
Mrs Mayhew and her daughter ran
to a neighbour's home and after
being taken to hospital received
emergency surgery.
When he was arrested nearby,
Mayhew thought he had killed his
ex-wife, and told police: "I should not
have done what I did. I just lost the
plot. When someone sleeps with your
bird, it hurts. I didn't want to kill her.
I just wanted to stop her going out
tonight."
Jailing him for 12 years for attempted
murder, the Recorder of
Middlesbrough, Judge Peter Fox, QC,
told Mayhew he had Rebecca to
thank for him not facing a life sentence.
He said: "But for the quite remarkable
bravery and persisting
courage and determination of your
daughter, who undoubtedly saved
her mother's life, you would today be
sentenced for murder.
"You have your daughter to thank.
You will never be able to thank her
enough, for your determination was
manifest."
Jonathan Walker, mitigating, said
Mayhew had written a number of letters
since being remanded in custody,
which showed a different side
to the jealous knifeman.
The court heard that Mrs Mayhew
described him as the life and soul of
the party, kind-hearted and affectionate
during the early part of their
marriage, but after becoming unemployed
he turned to drink and suffered
mental health problems.
Mr Walker said: "He is utterly
wracked with guilt, utterly sorry for
what he did and utterly sorry for
placing his daughter in the position
of having to observe such a horrific
and unpleasant experience."
One of the letters written by Mayhew,
which he hoped would be passed
on to his ex-wife, reads: "Words will
never be able to express how I feel. I
am so, so sorry that I hurt you in
such a horrific way. I will bear the
guilt to my grave and by the grace of
God I thank that you are here. I pray
for your forgiveness one day."
After the case, Detective Constable
Louise Guy described the attack as
horrendous, and said: "That she has
survived without any long-lasting injuries
is thanks to her 11-year-old
daughter. If it was not for her actions,
her mother would have died. It
is hoped that her bravery will now be
recognised with an award.
"Mayhew has shown remorse for
what he has done, but he will have to
live with that for the rest of his life."
7:57am Saturday 3rd May 2008
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