Man guilty of attempted murder during burglary

Elliot Mallett will be sentenced on 5 December for the attack in the Pinewood area

A man has been found guilty of attempted murder after a woman was stabbed eight times during a burglary.

The woman's home on Admiral Road, in Pinewood on the edge of Ipswich, was broken into just before 17:00 GMT on 7 December 2024.

Elliot Mallett, 24, of Hawthorn Drive in nearby Chantry, has been convicted by a jury at Ipswich Crown Court following a three-week trial.

Suffolk Police said he had tried to claim he had been attacked in a park. He is due to be sentenced on 5 December.

Suffolk Police said the victim – a woman in her 40s - reported she was upstairs at when she heard a noise downstairs and went to investigate, at which point she encountered a man on the stairs.

She told police he produced a knife and lunged forward, stabbing her eight times in the neck, face, hands, shoulder and leg.

She managed to escape and get help from a neighbour.

A short time after the attack, police searched a nearby park and were approached by a man who claimed he had just been the victim of an attempted knifepoint robbery.

He said he was thrown to the floor and the attacker tried to stab him and that he in turn had tried to grab the knife. He said his name was Elliot Mallet.

'Terrifying ordeal'

Officers raised their concerns after discrepancies in the man's statements and he was treated as a suspect.

He was arrested the next day and doorbell footage showed him leaving his home wearing clothing matching the description given by the victim.

A knife was found by a member of the public near to his home.

Analysis of Mallett's phone found that later on the day of the attack, he had messaged a friend saying "something had happened" and that he "had almost got stabbed and some woman got stabbed as well and put in hospital", police said.

Mallett was also found guilty of aggravated burglary.

Det Con Alice Gaffer said: "Elliott Mallett subjected the victim to a terrifying ordeal in her own home – the one place everyone should have the right to feel safe and secure.

"The victim demonstrated incredible bravery in fighting him off and then managing to escape to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm.

"It is a miracle her physical injuries were not more serious given the size of the knife."