A vulnerable man was lured to an alleyway and robbed before being stabbed seven times.
A court heard how Daniel Watson-McCabe suffered a puncured lung and was left bleeding heavily following the attack which left him scarred and with severe trauma. Lewis King, 19, of Waterside, Netherton, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday where he pleaded guilty to one count of robbery on October 31, 2021, on the basis he did not stab the victim, another unknown male did.
His co-defendant, Ella Balenski, 19, of Dawson Avenue, Southport, was found guilty of the same offence after a trial. King also pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery in relation to attacks on Elijah Wood and Connor Price which took place on May 5, 2022, with an unknown male who has not been arrested.
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Judge Denis Watson KC sentenced King to six years and four months for the robbery of Mr Watson-McCabe and a further two years for the other two robberies, totalling eight years and four months, in a young offender institute. A restraining order bans King from contacting Mr Watson-McCabe.
David Watson, prosecuting, said Mr Watson-McCabe went to the same college as Balenski and the pair were in contact over Snapchat between September 2020 and March 2021 and had developed a friendship. However, Balenski left college and they had not spoken in a while when the victim received a message from her two days before the attack.
The victim said the “tone of the conversation was very different to earlier messages”, and that she used the word “sex” and inferred they may “become intimate”. Mr Watson-McCabe had not left his home in 12 months at the time of the offence but was persuaded by messages sent from Balenski’s phone to meet her on October 31, 2021.
Mr Watson said: “This was a trap to lure Mr Watson-McCabe out of his house and to the scene so that he could be robbed. He travelled by taxi to the point at around 6.30pm.”
He and Balenski walked together to what he thought was her home and chatted about college. However, she led him to an underpass in Princess Way, Waterloo, where two males were waiting and were clearly familiar with Balenski.
The victim said he recalled stuttering as he was uncomfortable meeting new people. King, then 17, and an unknown male took Mr Watson-McCabe to an alleyway near Beach Road and Sandy Road, under the guise of wanting to roll a joint, where one of the males punched him in the face.
The robbers told the victim to hand over his North Face coat and his bag containing personal items including his phone. The other male then stabbed Mr Watson-McCabe seven times in the chest and leg causing him to pass out.
Mr Watson said the victim recalled hearing Balenski say “stop it” on at least two occasions before he lost consciousness although CCTV footage showed her leaving the alleyway wearing his stolen jacket. Mr Watson said the victim was “bleeding heavily and suffering extreme pain” when he awoke alone in the alleyway. He managed to walk to a nearby convenience store where an ambulance was called at 6.27pm.
Mr Watson-McCabe suffered seven separate stab wounds, a punctured lung, a cut to the left side of his chest wall and significant wounds to his leg which “completely divided the nerves”. He had to wear a surgical boot for six months following the attack and his coat, bag and its contents were never recovered.
His phone was found in a bush near to where the attack happened. On November 4, when Mr Watson-McCabe felt well enough, he spoke to police and told them about Balenski. The following day she was spoken to by police and further inquiries were made which led officers to King’s home on December 21 where both defendants were arrested. King answered no comment to all questions put to him.
A victim personal statement, written by Mr Watson-McCabe, was read to the court by the prosecution and detailed the severe trauma he suffered as a result of the attack. It read: “I remember almost everything from when I was getting wheeled into the hospital from the day I left. It is a trauma I will always carry with me. There were times when I thought that I was not going to make it.”
He detailed several scars, including some on his face, which have made him feel extremely self conscious and concerned that everyone is looking at him.
The statement continued: “I remember the deep feeling of fear of being alone in the hospital in case they came back to hurt me again. It killed me even more to see my mother's reaction. My trust in people has gone. It makes me question every relationship in my life.
“I will never understand why they felt the need to hurt me this way. I may never understand why anyone would ever use a knife on other people.” The victim said he has nightmares and flashbacks every day and dropped out of college as a result of the attack.
The court also heard how n May 5, 2022, Elijah Woods, Connor Price and Shannon Jones were walking along West Street, in Southport, at around 10.30pm, when two males jumped out at them - one of them King. The other male, who has not been arrested, pulled out an orange knife, around 20 or 30 centimetres in length, and told Mr Woods to take his jacket off and took his phone. He said: “Give us everything. If you lie to us I will stab you.”
However, Mr Woods did not comply and punched the male in the face with such force that he fell to the floor and then retrieved his phone. Mr Watson said, at the same time King, wearing a red balaclava, made similar threats to Mr Price and told him to unlock, reset and hand over his phone.
He forcibly removed Mr Price’s Superdry jacket and, when the victim said he didn’t know how to reset his phone, King told him: “If you are lying I will stab you.” Ms Jones tried to call the police but was stopped by the other male from doing so and he threatened to “take her home if she moved”.
King then approached Mr Woods, holding a 10 to 20 centimetre craft knife with a yellow handle, and attempted to stab him in the chest, ripping his jumper. Again, Mr Woods fought back, and punched King to the face, causing him to fall to the floor his face bleeding.
The unknown male then tried to stab Mr Woods but had the weapon was knocked from his hands. Both robbers ran from the scene and the victims went into a nearby bar where a small cut to Mr Wood’s hand was treated.
They then went to Southport Hospital A&E for further treatment but, soon after, King entered the same A&E and was recognised immediately by the victims. He left after hearing Mr Price on the phone telling someone what had happened but was arrested the next day.
A personal victim statement written by Mr Woods and read by Mr Watson said the attack left him with cuts and bruises but no broken bones. He said since the attack he has not been sleeping as well which resulted in him losing his job. The statement also said he is worried about the person responsible being released from prison in case he sees him in the streets. King has one previous youth court referral order in 2020 for possession of a bladed article.
Jason Smith, defending, said: “This is a young man, 19-years-old, who accepts that he will receive a substantial term of detention and he accepts that the sentence is thoroughly justified. The probation service has noted that Mr King identifies, empathises and shows remorse.
“The best indication of that, however late it was in the day, is that he had the courage and common sense to enter guilty pleas.”
Mr Smith said his client accepts that “he mixed with the wrong crowd” and intends to move out of the area once he is released to stay with family.
He continued: “He has already made steps to ensure when he is released, he moves away from Merseyside, away from the associates he was mixing with, and is able to rebuild his life, and is able to put behind him, these offences, which took place in a six-month period when he was very young.
“What is most important is that this defendant appreciates that you can’t use knives, you can’t use violence, and that any significant risk of being involved in offences of violence is removed.”
Sentencing Judge Watson KC said: “You used Ella’s phone to message Mr Watson-McCabe to set him up And the set-up was cruel but very effective because he thought that the message came from her.
“It’s likely that it was not from her and the message asked him if he wanted to meet her for some sexual activity. I am satisfied she didn’t write it herself but I am sure she knew what was going on and she went along with it, she was an essential part of the plan.
“Once there, you and the other male punched him, demanded his coat and bag and he was stabbed at least 7 times as she, Ella, watched. He passed out and the three of you left hurriedly. By the time you got to Beach Road the CCTV showed Ella already wearing his coat, almost hand in hand or arm in arm walking away with you.
“You cared nothing for Daniel but he eventually managed to stagger to a shop where help was summoned and an ambulance called. Whilst on bail, you carried out two more robberies.”
Balenski will appear at Liverpool Crown Court to be sentenced in April.
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