Man who attempted to murder his Lottery-winning partner is jailed for 18 years

A 45-year old man has been jailed for 18 years after he knifed his partner seven times in the face. 

Stephen Gibbs attacked Emma Brown, his girlfriend of 11 years, at their home in Barry in January this year, as she tried to end their relationship. 

It is believed that the couple’s relationship deteriorated after Emma won a multimillion-pound sum on the National Lottery in 2017. 

Initially denying attempted murder, Gibbs then changed his plea to guilty at the start of his trial in September. 

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard how Gibbs had become increasingly paranoid and controlling of his partner, and how a tracking device he’d fitted in her car had been discovered after the attack. 

The attack on his partner wasn’t the first of this nature. Gibbs had already been in jail for six years for stabbing a former partner’s 11-year-old son six times with a kitchen knife.

At the sentencing on Monday, Prosecutor Ieuan Bennett described how Ms Brown’s dreams of travelling the world following her lottery-win had caused some difficulties within their relationship, as the defendant didn’t like travelling. 

He also said that Gibbs had been increasingly paranoid about Ms Brown’s relationship with an old school friend and had once threatened to cut the man’s throat. 

On the night of the attack, Gibbs had once again accused Ms Brown of being unfaithful in which she decided to end the relationship. At this point, he lost his temper. 

The court heard how Gibbs slammed Ms Brown against a wall, choking her, dragging her outside before knifing her several times in the face. 

Ms Brown, in a pool of blood, was discovered by her neighbour who contacted the emergency services. She suffered many injuries to her face, including partially losing the sight in her right eye. 

Gibbs, who fled the scene, then called a female friend, telling her he had stabbed his partner. 

“I think I’ve killed her”, he said. 

In a victim impact statement, Ms Brown said Gibbs had never previously been violent to her and that the attack has changed her as a person.

“It has completely ruined my self-confidence, I am also suffering from self-doubt because I trusted him.” She said, 

“We were together for years and I can’t believe he was able to deceive me, I never thought he would do something like this but he did and I can’t even contemplate opening myself up to trust someone else.”

Jailing Gibbs for 18 years, Judge Richard Twomlow said: “(This offence) has a number of aggravating features – being in the victim’s own home, the fact you simply left her there and drove away, and your previous convictions for similar behaviour.

“I am also of the view that because of your previous convictions of this type you pose a serious risk of further harm.”

Gibbs was told that he must serve two-thirds of his sentence in custody, instead of the usual half, and would serve an additional licence period of five years.