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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Sophie Corcoran & Kelly-Ann Mills

Man Googled 'how many years do you get for killing someone' before stabbing ex

A man googled "how many years do you get for killing someone?" before stabbing his ex-girlfriend in a blood-thirsty attack.

Jack Sutton, 24, sobbed as he was jailed for the horrific stabbing of his ex-partner after they broke up.

The pair had been for a meal in Scarborough to speak amicably about their relationship, and later that night met up again when the woman realised he had her ID.

Despite going with a friend who she had been staying with since the break up, Sutton lured the woman away to a darker street where he slashed and stabbed at her body a number of times on December 10, last year.

A kind-hearted neighbour and the woman's friend shouted at Sutton to stop, but the father-of-two continued.

When officers arrived, Sutton had already fled and was later found hiding in a nearby garden.

The woman was taken to hospital by police and a CT scan showed her lungs had partially collapsed and her liver had been punctured.

The attack took place in December (examinerlive.co.uk)

Prosecuting Angus MacDonald told Leeds Crown Court the woman had suffered a number of wounds, including a 13mm stab wound to her chest, a 30mm wound to her shoulder, two wounds to her leg, one measuring 20mm and another measuring 25mm, two wounds measuring 18mm and 17mm to her right arm and a 16mm wound to her forearm.

Sutton was charged with attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon, which he pleaded guilty to in March this year.

Following his arrest, his blood-stained clothes yielded a DNA which matched the woman's profile, as did the knife used in the attack.

Mr MacDonald also said mobile phone analysis carried out on Sutton's phone found that in the hours before the attack he had searched, "How many years do you get for killing someone?".

In a victim personal statement, the woman told how "the attack had changed everything about her and everything around her".

She said she had to learn to become left-handed due to muscle damage she suffered during the stabbing, and is now "withdrawn" and a "different person to what she was before".

She is also "scared of going out and struggles to sleep and has constant nightmares".

The court was told that Sutton had no previous convictions, but two cautions, one of which was for an attack in 2019 on a woman in her own home.

Mr MacDonald said Sutton had strangled the woman and threw a coffee table at her.

Mitigating, Glenn Parsons, said a number of character references, including one from Sutton's ex-partner and mother of his two children, had been provided to the court.

He said: "He was 23 years-of-age, was immature and had been suffering to some degree with his mental health due to a combination of excessive use of alcohol and cocaine use and isolation from lockdown.

"This was an abhorration and behaviour that was seriously out of character. He has very little recollection of what possessed him. He was clearly unable to cope with the breakdown of the relationship."

Sutton - who appeared in court via video link from HMP Hull - sobbed as Judge Tom Bayliss QC sentenced him to 16 years in prison with an extended licence period of four years.

The judge told him: "I'm quite sure you are a jealous man and it was jealousy that led you to it. Your jealousy got the better of you."

He added: "Whether she will ever recover mentally is another issue. I'm sure there is there is a darker side to you which is apparent to your mother as she said in her statement: 'He's a drug addict who needs help and support to overcome this'."

Judge Bayliss told Sutton he poses a risk as he "carefully planned the attack" with an aim to "kill the victim".

He added: "In my judgement you pose a risk to anyone who you enter a close relationship with."

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