Telford man who put woman in coma in ferocious meat cleaver attack jailed for 18 years

Lee Sargent, aged 47, carried out a ferocious attack on his victim at his home in Culmington, Stirchley in August last year, while drunk. He left his victim close to death and put her in a coma for 11 days, Stafford Crown Court heard on Wednesday.

Sargent had admitted attacking the woman on August 1, and had also pleaded guilty to assaulting an emergency worker during the incident and an earlier charge of child neglect, the court was told.

Prosecution counsel, Mr Patrick Sullivan, told the court that Sargent’s attack the woman followed an earlier incident in June in which her child had been taken into custody after the pair were found drunk in Telford.

He told the court that on August 1, police received a 999 call at around 8pm but that operators could only hear “muffled grunts and cutting sounds”.

Following a trace, officers were despatched to the address in Stirchley.

But Mr Sullivan said before they arrived, a driver delivering vodka and Coke had called at the address, and Sargent had opened the door covered “head to toe in blood”.

Mr Sullivan said: “Police then arrived and he was in the same state when he opened door; covered in blood, blood dripping down his left arm and he had a cut wrist.”

He said officers followed him into the bedroom, which was “in darkness”.

“An officer turned on the light and saw for the first time his victim.

“She was slumped near the bed, a meat cleaver was on the right-hand side of bed.”

Mr Sullivan told the court that the cleaver had been bought previously by Sargent as a means of home defence and it was kept under his bed.

Following the attack on the woman, the court heard that Sargent was taken to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford to have a wound on his arm treated, and while there, he spat at a police officer who had escorted him to the toilet.

Meanwhile, he said his victim, who had been left with no memory of the attack, was to spend the next 11 days in a coma.

He said pathologist Dr Alex Kolar had summarised her injuries as coming from a “sustained assault” involving at least “32 impacts to her head, face, body arms and hands”.

He said there must have been “considerable force” used and he concluded that “her death would have been the anticipated outcome without the prompt and significant medical and surgical intervention” she had received by police and ambulance workers.

Following the incident, Sargent’s victim spent 11 days in ICU in a coma and was not discharged from hospital until September 13.

“That’s when her struggles began,” said Mr Sullivan.

He said she had lost several fingers and a thumb and now “struggled in daily life” requiring help to “dress herself, cut her food and doing simple things like using scissors.”

He also told the court her “new physical appearance” had triggered low self-esteem and PTSD.

In an impact statement, she described her attacker as “a monster” who had left her with “life changing injuries”. Judge Kristina Montgomery KC said the incident in Telford had “no doubt played some part in the terrible events in August” that she described as a “horrifying spectacle”.

She described Sargent’s criminal past, as “too numerous to mention”.

She told Sargent that his offences were so severe she had considered jailing him for life, but instead had opted for an “extended sentence”.

She jailed him for 18 years and ten months for attempted murder, telling Sargent while he could be considered for release after serving half his sentence, he would remain on “extended licence” for 21 years – meaning he could be returned to jail if he commits any further offences in that time.

She also said he would serve two months for the assault on an emergency worker and two months for child neglect, but those sentences would run concurrently.

Detective Constable Becky Jasper, the officer in charge of the investigation, welcomed the sentence.

She said: “We welcome today’s sentence of Lee Sargent, as this is one of the worst cases of violence that I have ever dealt with.

“It was a sustained attack, which resulted in life changing injuries for the victim.

“I’d like to thank her for her cooperation and bravery throughout this investigation.

“I would urge anyone who believes they are a victim of abuse to speak to police.”