Gateshead woman stabbed 29 times: 'I am a survivor - not a victim'

Tina Turner relived her attack in a bid to encourage others to seek help for domestic violence

A woman who was stabbed 29 times by her partner and left to die has described herself as "a survivor" not "a victim" as she encouraged others to seek help.

Martina Turner - known as Tina - was locked inside her Gateshead home and left in a pool of blood after Steven Wood attacked her with several knives.

The 54-year-old said Wood "manipulated" her caring nature and she had ignored warning signs in their relationship.

Wood was jailed for life with a minimum term of 12 years for attempted murder.

The 54-year-old, who admitted the charge in January, was sentenced on Friday at Newcastle Crown Court.

Steven Wood hid the keys to the home he shared with Tina Turner after leaving her for dead

The couple had been together for two years and lived together for a year before Wood launched his attack in May 2021 after Ms Turner had told him she was going out.

"I was so besotted and so much in love with Steven," she said.

"I now have to live with the knowledge that the man I loved and tried to help, that I believed was a charming, empathetic and in his words 'a soulmate' could turn into a monster and attack me."

She relived the moment she "begged" for her life, telling Wood he could talk to her about anything, but was told by him: "No, I have to finish you off because I am not going to prison for you."

"That sentence stays with me, I hear it every day in my head," she said.

"I think it will stay with me the rest of my life."

When the police made it inside the house they found Ms Turner severely injured, cowering inside a cupboard.

Wood was later picked up by the police marine unit after he had tried to take his own life.

'I used to blame myself'

Wood had previously told Ms Turner that a former partner had left him while he was at work and cleared their house.

"I wonder now if she left because she was terrified of him," she added.

He had also told her another partner had fallen down the stairs during an argument, but police would later tell her it was he who had pushed her down the stairs with a pole.

After he was jailed, Ms Turner said she was determined to make sure other women heard about her experience and knew it was OK to seek help and support.

"I now realise how miraculous it is I survived my injuries, as some people die from one stab wound and I had 29," she said.

"Steven had every opportunity to ring an ambulance, however, instead he left me to die with a knife embedded in my chest in a pool of my own blood and was clear-headed enough to lock the doors to prevent anyone from helping me.

"I used to blame myself but therapy has helped me get me where I am now. I have good and bad days but I know how to survive.

"I am not a victim, I am a survivor."

Northumbria Police urged anyone affected by domestic violence or who had concerns to contact its website.

It also encouraged anyone with concerns about a partner or a loved one who might be at risk of abuse to apply to use Clare's Law - a free and confidential information check on someone's criminal record.