A man repeatedly stabbed his sleeping girlfriend before an hour-long stand off with police on a flyover.
Thomas McLean spent an entire weekend binging on alcohol and drugs before subjecting his partner to the vicious attack without warning and leaving her with injuries including a punctured lung. He then left for the Breeze Hill flyover on an e-scooter where, armed with a kitchen knife, he was swarmed by armed police and remarked "that's it?" when he was told he was being arrested on suspicion of a serious assault.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Thursday, that the 36-year-old had been drinking "excessively" and taking cocaine since the previous Friday night by the morning of Monday, January 16, last year. His girlfriend Stacey Bosanquet meanwhile had taken their 10-year-old son to school that day before returning to their home on Bedford Road in Walton, at which point she went back to bed.
READ MORE: Crying mum jailed after son asked her to help pay off his prison debts
Ian Whitehurst, prosecuting, described how she later awoke to find McLean repeatedly striking her to the side of her head with a steak knife. He was said to have briefly retreated to the hallway and held the blade to his neck while stating that he was going to kill himself, before returning to the bedroom and resuming his attack.
But a "hysterically crying" Ms Bosanquet was able to flee the address covered in blood while screaming: "Thomas has stabbed me. He wouldn't let me leave, I thought he was going to kill me."
She then sought refuge with a neighbour, who called the police. McLean meanwhile departed on an electric scooter after arming himself with a second weapon, a kitchen knife.
A concerned motorist spotted him holding this blade in his left hand and dialled 999, with armed officers then swarming the junction of the A5057 and Rice Lane. He "refused to surrender" for around an hour and was seen pointing the knife towards PCs, before ultimately dropping it and being detained for a section 18 assault.
McLean replied to this: "That's it, section 18? Is she ok?"
Ms Bosanquet was later found to have suffered a 2cm incised wound to her jawline, a 4cm laceration to the left side of her neck and a 2cm cut to her chest which caused a punctured lung. She was also left with a "deep" wound between her right thumb and index finger, as well as further superficial injuries to this hand.
McLean was previously held by police in October 2022 following a callout by his partner, which led to him spending the night in a psychiatric hospital before he discharged himself the following day. He was also said to have stopped taking prescribed medication for mental health issues at the time of the 2023 incident.
His criminal record amounts to 16 convictions for 23 offences, including battery in 2010 and threatening behaviour in 2006, 2015 and 2022. McLean was also convicted of wounding with intent as a youth in 2006, when he used a broken bottle to cut a stranger's arm during a street attack.
Rebecca Filletti, defending, told the court that her client had been suffering from a "spiralling mental state, which led to him self-medicating" with drink and drugs following deaths of his brother and dad in 2018 and 2022 respectively. She added: "There has clearly been a slow deterioration between October and January, during which there was very little support or medication in place for Mr McLean.
"He has been in custody for a year, and there have not been any incidents. He has done everything required of him.
"He has begun to make positive steps in his life. He has now embarked upon an apprenticeship with a view to him going straight out into a job.
"His most serious offence was when he was a youth and between then and now, even without assistance and support, he has maintained periods of non-offending. The offending that was occurring was fairly low level.
"He has faced the most serious of charges. Even with those additional stresses, he has managed to do everything required of him to a high standard.
"His hopes and aspirations are for being a better person in his son's life. Mr McLean has shown remorse from the outset.
"He has managed to take really positive steps in the right direction. He does not want to be before the courts again.
"He wants the help, he wants the support. It appears that was not something he was able to access up until the point of criminality for these offences."
McLean admitted wounding with intent to inflict grievous bodily harm and possession of a bladed article in a public place, with a further count of attempted murder ordered to lie on the file. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool, he was jailed for five years and two months.
Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: "This is a somewhat bizarre case. Your motive for attacking Ms Bosanquet is a mystery.
"You had been in a loving relationship for a long time, some 14 years. The relationship was a happy one, and you are a good father to your young child.
"She noticed a change in you following bereavements in 2018 and 2022. This resulted in an increasing dependency on alcohol and drugs.
"There is, in this case, some strong and powerful mitigation. Mr McLean has expressed genuine remorse.
"References all speak of him being a kind and loving family man. It is of grave concerned to this court that when you drink and take drugs and decide not to take your medication, you are capable of losing control and inflicting quite savage violence.
"I accept that you are motivated to change, but it is impossible to predict how sustainable that will be going forward. You are now known to various agencies and you are complying.
"I am persuaded, but only just, that in your case a determinate sentence is sufficient to address the risk that you pose. I will not pass an extended sentence."
Don't miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the Echo Daily newsletter here