Man who stabbed wife guilty of attempted murder

Mark Taylor attacked his wife with two knives before leaving her locked in a house

A man who stabbed his wife multiple times and left her locked in their Derbyshire home has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Mark Taylor, 57, launched a "sustained" attack on Suzanne Taylor at their house in Baslow in February which broke the knife he was using before he picked up a second knife and continued to stab her.

He then took their teenage son and drove about 65 miles (104km) from their house in Wheatlands Lane.

He was found guilty by a jury at Derby Crown Court on Thursday.

The court heard an argument had broken out between the couple on 15 February over how they looked after their teenage son.

This led to Mrs Taylor asking her husband to leave, prompting him to become violent.

Mrs Taylor suffered stab wounds to her neck, arm, chest and stomach but could not get help from the emergency services after her husband took away any means of contacting them, before locking her in the house.

She eventually managed to get the attention of one of her neighbours by banging on an upstairs window, and the police were called.

Taylor was stopped and arrested later that day by police officers in Chester, who found his wife's phone in the car.

'Fortunate' to survive

A police interview was shown to the jury in which Mrs Taylor said: "I seriously thought 'that’s it, my time’s up'.

"You don’t expect to be stabbed in the neck and walk away."

Det Con Amber Holmes, who led the investigation, said: “This was a ferocious and sustained attack by Taylor on his wife who genuinely feared she was going to die.

“After this incident she disclosed to police that she had been suffering from domestic abuse at the hands of her husband for around 40 years including a previous incident involving a knife.

“This could have so easily been a fatal attack and it is very fortunate that she survived this incident.

"However while her physical injuries may have started to heal, the emotional and mental impact will remain with her for many years to come."

Taylor is due to be sentenced on 10 October at the same court.

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