Attacker to be kept in hospital

10:49am Friday 4th July 2008

A MAN who tried to kill a shopworker as he acted out his violent fantasies has been detained indefinitely.

Paul Dempsey was sent to a medium-security mental hospital after doctors agreed he suffered from schizophrenia.

A court heard that the attack on Rosie Bonner was random and came a week after Dempsey's release from hospital.

Dempsey told police he had decided to attack a lone female because she would be an easy target. He visited the female fashion floor in Binns, in Middlesbrough town centre, several times on January 30 before he struck.

Teesside Crown Court heard that after each visit, Dempsey, 33, went to a nearby pub to drink. Less than an hour before closing time, he again went to the department store and stabbed Miss Bonner, 39, in the back.

As shoppers and staff looked on, Dempsey was tackled and restrained by two security guards. The moment was captured on a mobile phone by a member of the public.

Dempsey, of Sanderson Street, Darlington, admitted attempted murder and possessing an offensive weapon at an earlier hearing.

Judge Peter Fox was told by two psychiatrists that Dempsey was a schizophrenic who posed a future risk to women.

The judge said: "It was a shocking and extremely serious crime and one which you had contemplated for some time.

"It is plain, both from the facts of your offending and from the evidence this court has heard, that you present a very real and great danger to women. But for the conclusion I am bound to draw from the evidence, I would not hesitate in passing a sentence of life imprisonment.

"I express a hope and trust that should you ever be released, it will only be after the closest scrutiny of all that has transpired. Any such release, whenever - if ever - that occurs should be under the strictest regime of control and supervision."

Dempsey had been treated for mental problems for the past ten years and spent time in hospital. He had been convicted of two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm in Darlington, both against lone women.

Nigel Soppitt, in mitigation, said Dempsey was very, very sorry' but said: "He cannot offer any explanation."

Mr Soppitt said it appeared Dempsey did not accept the medication or advice of experts after his release in January.

Dempsey told police he bought the knife as pressures were building up in his mind, and admitted he intended to harm someone.

Christopher Knox, prosecuting, said the knife cut Miss Bonner's left kidney, which had since been removed.

He said: "Her life has been irredeemably altered. She feels vulnerable and unable to go into crowded town centres."

Miss Bonner declined to comment after the case, but a statement from her was read out by police. It said: "This crime should not have happened.

People who carry knives should think twice before they do. They should think of the consequences before using them because of the damage and heartache their actions can cause to the victim, family and friends.

"I only wish this man had thought before he acted, then all of this could have been avoided."

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