Violent ex laid in wait before late-night hatchet attack on woman at her Essex home

A violent ex who launched a hatchet attack on his former partner in the middle of the night while her children slept inside has been found guilty of her attempted murder.

David Richards, 41, ambushed the woman late at night as she was letting her dogs out into her garden, having laid in wait in waterproof clothing.

Richards dragged her inside a building on the property in Stock in Essex, where she was bound and attacked with a hatchet.

While Richards stepped out to try to find the woman’s phone, she was able to free herself, run back to her children, lock her doors and call for help.

She received life-changing injuries to her head during the attack in April, said police.

Richards then continued to terrify the family by trying to force his way into the property, before fleeing in his car.

Following a short police pursuit he was brought to a stop near Ipswich and arrested for attempted murder.

Richards is due to be sentenced at Chelmsford Court Crown on 21 December.

Richards, of no fixed abode, denied trying to kill the woman but a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court took only three hours to convict him of attempted murder. He was also found guilty of breaching a non-molestation order.

Det Con Jenny Clarke said: “Everyone who has worked on this case has collected every scrap of evidence and testimony we could to convince the jury of Richards' intent that night.

“He waited behind the woman’s house armed with a dangerous weapon, dressed in waterproof clothing and chose to attack her in the middle of the night when she was most vulnerable.

“He didn’t even care that young children were alone inside the house and could have found their mum the next morning.

“People like Richards are a danger to our communities and we will do everything we can to stop them.

"The woman has been left feeling unsafe on her own up until this guilty verdict and should be commended for her bravery not only after the incident but throughout the investigation and giving vital evidence at court."

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