Man Guilty Over Girlfriend's Stabbing
14 March 2019, 09:30 | Updated: 14 March 2019, 09:34
A man who stabbed his on-off partner with a breadknife 39 times at her flat on Shoreham beach has been convicted of GBH with intent.
Liam Hanley attacked Sarah Harries while she was in the bath last September, leaving her with stab wounds to her neck, abdomen and arms and a punctured lung.
She managed to fight him off and he ran away before calling a friend to help him arrange a lift to take him to Berkshire.
During the journey the 32-year-old asked to stop for a cigarette and dumped a bag of clothes at the side of the road.
The driver dropped him off and while returning home received an alert from the Sussex Police's Facebook page saying Liam was wanted. The driver immediately returned to Liam's friend, who had already called the police and waited for officers there to give them details about what had happened.
The next day, after staying at another friend’s house, Liam called police and handed himself into police in Maidenhead.
The 32-year-old was charged with attempted murder and his trial began on February 25. On March 13 a jury found him guilt of GBH with intent. He has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on May 10.
Detective Constable Katy Lewis said: "This was a horrific attack on a woman which came completely out of the blue, shocking Sarah herself and the close community in Shoreham. There was no history of violence from Liam and Sarah was truly shocked by ferocious nature of the attack.
"Sarah has thankfully made a recovery however the scars and some of her injuries will have an impact on her for the rest of her life. She has bravely taken to the stand during the trial and faced Liam once again; I commend her for this and so grateful she is here to do so."
