A man who attempted to murder his ex-partner by stabbing her in the street in Sutton has been jailed.
Nicholas Hutchins, 55, of Wellow Walk, Carshalton, was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment, with an extended license of three years, at Croydon Crown Court on Tuesday, 8 February.
He pleaded guilty at the same court on Monday, 28 June 2021 to attempted murder and possession of a pointed/bladed item, namely a knife.
On the morning of Friday, 31 July 2020, Hutchins’ wife was leaving an address on Village Row, Sutton – where she had been staying since she separated from Hutchins in March – to go to work.
As she walked round Village Row, a man emerged from an alleyway.
She did not recognise the male until he started approaching her with his hand held at head height and shouting: “You should never have left me. I love you.”
The victim thought that Hutchins was going to punch her and lifted her left arm up in defence.
A few seconds later, the victim realised that Hutchins had a knife and that he was attacking her while repeatedly yelling: “You should never have left me.”
The victim’s screams alerted members of the public to the brutal attack and soon residents who heard the cries, ran outside and tackled Hutchins to the ground.
Brave members of the public kept Hutchins restrained on the ground until police arrived at 7:23am – six minutes after the initial call was received.
When police arrived to the scene of the stabbing, Hutchins told police officers he just wanted to talk to his wife and insisted he did not stab her.
He was then arrested and cautioned for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
At the scene, officers searched the nearby area and found the weapon that was used to stab the victim, as well a separate bag of knifes which later transpired to also belong to Hutchins.
After the arrest, Hutchins was taken to hospital to be treated for a cut to his hand.
When being seen to at the hospital, Hutchins confessed to a medical practitioner that he went to the location with the intention to cause serious harm to his estranged wife.
He said: “If I can’t live with her, no one else should live with her”.
He then added: “I wanted to kill her and then kill myself”.
It was at this point that Hutchins was de-arrested by officers for grievous bodily harm and re-arrested for attempted murder as a result of what he told the medical staff.
The victim was taken to a south London hospital where she was treated for multiple stab wounds to her arm and upper body.
Hutchins initially pleaded not guilty on Tuesday, 1 September 2020 at Croydon Crown Court and a trial date was set for Monday, 28 June 2021.
On the first day of trial, he pleaded guilty to the above offences.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Hutchins’ ex-partner said: “As a result of what Nicholas did to me, I feel he has stolen my future because I have to think about going out or even on holiday, as I am worried for my safety.
“I also feel that I have lost my husband. Although he wasn’t the best, he was still my husband and we were married for a significant amount of time.
“I also feel my children and grandchildren have lost their father and grandfather.
“It is lucky that the grandchildren are young enough for this incident not to have an impact on them.”
She continued: “I make the effort not to think about what he did that day but it has really affected me. I am always trying to keep busy because if I’m busy I am not thinking about it.”
Detective Constable Chris Dimmer, the investigating officer from South Area’s Public Protection Unit, said: “This was a malicious attack against an innocent woman, simply because she no longer wanted to be with him.
“Hutchins was determined to cause serious harm and it is fortunate that the victim was not left with life-threatening injuries.
“I commend the courageous members of the public that intervening and stopped Hutchins from preventing him from causing further injuries to his ex-partner or other member of the public.
“I hope the sentence that was handed down to Hutchins today will send a clear message to those that are intent on committing violent acts. We will pursue and bring to justice perpetrators of any abuse – including those of domestic abuse.”
If you are experiencing domestic abuse or know someone who you think is a victim, call police or Crimestoppers.
If you cannot talk, dial 999 and press 55 to let the operator know the call has not been made in error.
