A Bristol doctor who nearly died when he was randomly stabbed in his home came to court and wished his attacker all the best for the future. Dr Adam Towler was subjected to a terrifying ordeal when teenager Chanz Maximen unleashed the attack in October 2019.
But on the day Maximen was jailed for life, the Clifton-based doctor open up to Maximen and the court about his feelings. And he stressed that he was not upset or angry with him.
Dr Towler, 53, told him: "I wish I could wave a magic wand and undo what has happened to us - but I can't, so we have to get on with life in whatever form that takes. I've tried to share some of what it was and is like for me.
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"I don't know how it is for you. I'm guessing that this will be the last contact we have, at least for a bit. So, however it works out for you - and you have a lot of years left to live in the normal order of things - good luck and all the best to you and your family."
Maximen, 19, of Woodland Walk in Sea Mills, was convicted by jury of the attempted murder of Dr Towler, and possessing a knife, in October 2019. He was also convicted of the wounding with intent of warehouse worker Wojtek Rozmiarek in November 2019 as well as possessing two more knives.
Judge William Hart jailed him for life with a minimum 12 years to serve. He told Maximen: "There is no logical explanation for this offending other than you were and remain a highly dangerous young man with a wholly distorted view of life and appropriate conduct."
Police officers tackled Maximen to the ground after a chase at Clifton Down station - view the footage below or read more here about the police response.
A jury at Bristol Crown Court listened to the chilling moment the a doctor rang 999 and said he had been stabbed. Dr Towler contacted emergency services on the evening of October 30, 2019.
He told the operator he had been stabbed multiple times by a man who was still battering his front door. A hurt Dr Towler, who remained calm and measured in the call, said: "I need an ambulance, I am injured.
"There's a man with a knife who injured me in the vicinity. He's shining a light through the door. I believe he's mentally disturbed."
The jury heard Maximen stabbed Dr Towler multiple times after knocking on the door of his home in Clifton. Dr Towler suffered nine stab wounds in the incident, including one that missed his heart by two centimetres.
The jury also heard he attacked warehouse worker Mr Rozmiarek, who was stabbed in the head as he sat on a bench on November 20 2019.
He was acquitted of aggravated burglary by following Annabel Everitt as she walked home from a night out on November 21, before knocking on the door of her home and coming inside with a knife.
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The jury was played an audio recording of Dr Towler's 999 call on October 30. He told the controller he needed police and an ambulance after being attacked with a knife.
The operator told him to keep talking, and asked him where he was injured. Dr Towler replied: "Head's bleeding, abdomen.
"It's a bit hard to be coherent. I'm going to sit down now. I have pain in my chest and abdomen."
The controller continually reassured Dr Towler that help was on the way. Dr Towler told him he was finding it hard to breathe deeply, and he didn't want to look at his injuries.
He managed to describe his assailant, saying he was wearing a grey hoodie. The assailant had a knife in his right hand and appeared to be aged about 30 to 50, he estimated, and was about 5ft 8ins to fft 10ins tall.
Dr Towler said: "He knocked in the door, he was attacking me with the knife and chased me down the street. He hit me with the knife maybe twice.
"I don't know him." Shortly after police and paramedics arrived on the scene, the court heard.
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The alleged assault on Mr Rozmiarek occurred as he sat on a bench at the junction of Apsley Road and Whiteladies Road, the court was told
Witness Thomas Wainwright stated he was in Caledonia Place, Clifton, when a black male aged 20-25 jogged by him, wearing a coat with a frilly hood.
Mr Wainwright said: "I did not see him carry anything or dispose of anything. Nothing made me suspect a crime was going on."
'Like a burst from a machine gun'
Mr Rozmiarek told the court he suffered a cut head after receiving two or three blows from behind him as he sat on a bench at the junction of Apsley Road and Whiteladies Road. He said: "The blows where within a fragment of a second, like a burst from a sub-machine gun, really quick."
The court heard a Bristol University security guard, who tried to find the attacker to no avail, took Mr Rozmiarek to Southmead Hospital - but Mr Rozmiarek was told there was a five-hour wait for treatment so he walked home and treated his injuries himself.
Edward Hetherington, defending Maximen, said his client's mind "worked differently" from other people. He said Maximen, who had no previous convictions, was "polite, calm and respectful" but had roughened up to cope in custody.
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Dr Towler read an impact statement saying how the attack left him feeling fearful of walking in the street or of people coming to his door. He said, however, that he had tried to imagine how Maximen had endured his curtailed freedom in prison.
The doctor said: "I got lucky - and I am alive - but I very nearly died. I'll say again, I'm not angry with you - but I want to say to you that I am a real human being - just as you are - and I respect our lives equally. We are all human people, who live, love, hate.
"But killing should not be a human thing - and that nearly happened, and I'm unsure if you wanted that to happen when you stabbed me. If I were in your position - that would be a very scary thought for me, but I don't know if you understand it or at all how it is for you."
Outside court the doctor confirmed that, one day, he would like to sit down with Maximen and talk. He told Bristol Live: "I vividly remember sitting in my house, with my breathing deteriorating. It's one of those things where you think - am I looking at my own death here? But I got lucky, and I survived."
View the full interview at the top of this article.
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