Yahoo News Man stabbed complete stranger 50 times in broad daylight in 'carefully planned' attack
A man stabbed a complete stranger 50 times in broad daylight, a jury had found.
Michelle Hodgkinson was walking down Edge Lane in Droylsden in June last year when she was brutally attacked by Paul Hughes.
He had earlier gone into Asda, bought a pack of knives for £6, then waited on the bridge for somebody to walk past 'for him to attack'.
As Ms Hodgkinson, 51, walked past, he attacked her with the largest of the knives, before throwing it over a fence and walking home.
Hughes, 30, is accused of the unlawful act of killing Ms Hodgkinson, and was facing a finding of fact trial at Minshull Street Crown Court after he was found unfit to stand trial.
Jurors were told that following a hearing on November 22, it was concluded that Hughes was at the time of the attack, and currently is, suffering from schizophrenia. He did not participate in the trial and has remained at a maximum security prison since his arrest last year.
Following a three day trial, jurors found that Hughes did the act, namely the unlawful killing. He will face sentence on December 12.
Minshull Street Crown Court previously heard that Hughes’ family had observed he had become more ‘withdrawn and depressed’ and had tried to seek medical help for his condition.
Prosecutors said that whilst Hughes was ‘mentally unwell’ due to a diagnosis of schizophrenia, he appeared to have ‘carefully planned’ the attack.
“At 10.45am he left his home address without informing anyone of where he was going or why. He boarded the tram at Droylsden and got off at Velo Park station,” Rob Hall, prosecuting, said.
“On arrival he went to the Asda superstore, and once inside he went to the kitchenware section before selecting a four piece knife set.”
The court heard that he used his bank card to pay for the knives before getting the tram back to Droylsden. He was then captured on CCTV walking towards the canal towpath.
During that walk he was seen to take a large kitchen knife out of its packaging before discarding the wrapping, and the three other knives, near to a pink plant pot on a garden wall, it was said.
He stopped at the undergrowth near a bridge and appeared to be waiting for somebody to walk past ‘for him to attack’, prosecutors alleged.
“He did not have to wait very long. At 12.01pm, Michelle Hodgkinson walked past whilst on her way to meet her mother,” Mr Hall continued.
“Ms Hodgkinson came up over the bridge and walked past the footpath. Mr Hughes came out from the undergrowth and followed her and very soon after, attacked her from behind.”
The incident was captured on CCTV. Mr Hall said Hughes could be seen to be ‘looking both ways’ before the incident, to make sure nobody was driving past.
The court heard that Ms Hodgkinson was left with over 50 stab injuries including two which penetrated her heart and spine, causing ‘massive blood loss’.
Hughes then left the scene, checking there was no traffic, but some of the vehicles that drove past had dashcam. He then made his way from the towpath onto Cooperas Lane then turned right onto Peele Street.
“It appeared he was looking for a drain cover. He was then seen to dump his gloves into a grid,” the prosecutor added.
He then went back to his home address and was arrested in the early hours of June 3, the court heard. Hughes was transported to a local police station where it was found he was unfit to speak to officers by medics, and he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
The court heard that Hughes, of Field Street, would not be participating in the trial, but is legally represented by Gordon Cole KC.
Hughes will be sentenced on December 12 at Minshull Street Crown Court.
