A 12-year jail term has been imposed on a man who repeatedly stabbed a woman following an argument at a flat near Canterbury.
Reid Gawler left the victim with life-threatening injuries following the attack at a property in Sturry on Monday 21 September 2020.
The 23-year-old admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent at Canterbury Crown Court on Monday 24 May 2021 and was jailed for 12 years at the same court on Thursday 15 July.
Kent Police was called to River View at 1.25am on the day of the assault after residents heard shouted threats and doors in the flat being kicked.
Officers arrived at the scene and found the victim with serious head and neck injuries. A neighbour had been providing first aid and a police officer took over before paramedics arrived, saving the woman’s life.
Gawler had left the scene and was overheard by witnesses saying: ‘I’ve killed her.’
Officers quickly tracked him down to a nearby property and he was arrested. The knife he had used in the attack was recovered from the property he had gone to.
The victim was taken to hospital, from where she has since been discharged suffering long-term effects of the assault.
Subsequent enquiries by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate established witnesses had heard arguments between Gawler and the victim in the months before the attack, with Gawler calling her abusive names.
Detective Inspector Garry Cook, Kent Police’s senior investigating officer in the case, said: ‘Gawler carried out an extremely violent attack which very nearly took this victim’s life.
‘I hope this sentence gives her and her family a sense that justice has been done and I would like to praise the member of the public, officers and paramedics who provided life-saving first aid at the scene.
‘I would urge anyone who is suffering domestic violence or abuse to contact police or to tell someone they trust so that support can be provided and action can be taken.’
Detective Inspector Garry Cook