Northamptonshire man jailed for life for attempted murder of woman as she walked home
A repeat offender who tried to strangle a woman in a random attack has been jailed for life - after a judge said that only the speedy intervention of witnesses had stopped the victim being killed.
Sean Shortland, 25, must serve a minimum term of 18 years for attempting to murder the 22-year-old as she was walking home in Northampton in June 2020.
The victim, who lost consciousness as she “struggled for her life” in a residential street off Wellingborough Road, now suffers from panic attacks, flashbacks and nightmares, Northampton Crown Court was told.
Shortland, formerly of Valley Road, Northampton, had claimed to have been drunk at the time of the attack but was found guilty after a trial.
The court heard that Shortland had got off a bus to follow and attack the woman.
As he passed sentence on Friday, Judge Rupert Mayo told him: “This is a rare and disturbing case. You have consistently claimed that you have no recollection of the events but I am sure that’s a lie.
“I have heard the victim impact statement – the significant distress that she describes there still endures.”
He called the offence one of the greatest seriousness, adding that Shortland’s previous convictions for battery, breaching restraining orders, assaulting an emergency worker, and a revenge attack on a child showed an escalating pattern of offending.
'Entrenched and permanent desire to cause injury'
Addressing Shortland, the judge added: “In June 2020 you selected and targeted a total stranger. This on the face of it is inexplicable and very disturbing.
“I am entirely satisfied that there is a significant risk of you committing further specified offences and a significant risk of you causing serious harm thereby.
“My conclusion is that you have an entrenched and permanent desire to cause injury and distress. The risk you pose if just too high and it’s impossible to say when that risk will diminish.”
Shortland had made a “settled plan” to kill, the judge said, applying such force that the victim lost consciousness, and she “would have died there and then” if nearby residents had not come to her aid.
A victim impact statement from the woman, addressing Shortland directly, was read to the court record by the prosecutor in the case.
It said: “You carried out the most terrifying and unimaginable attack upon me. I was certain you were trying to kill me. I genuinely believed I would die at your hands.
“All I was doing was walking home. Why me?
“The thought of being out on my own fills me with dread. I constantly look over my shoulder to see if you are there. I relive what you did to me daily.
“There is no excuse for what you have done. I am a shadow of my former self. But I am getting stronger.”
Commenting after the case, Det Insp Simon Barnes of Northamptonshire Police said: “I would like to thank the victim in this case.
“Sean Shortland undoubtedly continues to pose a grave danger to women and I truly believe that, by coming forward and supporting our investigation, she has saved other women from suffering at his hands.”