Judge sentences boy who stabbed woman in head

A district judge has sentenced a 17-year-old boy who stabbed a woman in the head in a street in Brighton to two years in youth custody.

The boy, who cannot be identified by law, was given a two-year training and detention order at Brighton Magistrates’ Court for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm (GBH).

District Judge Amanda Kelly told the teenager, who lives in Whitehawk: “This is an incredibly serious offence.

“I find that only immediate custody can be justified in this case even though custody is a last resort for a child – and you are a child.

“To stab someone in the head is really serious and you are lucky not to have been here for a more serious offence. She could have died.”

The attack happened in Church Place, at the bottom of Manor Road, at 6.33pm on Saturday (25 May).

The boy was with his mother when he got into a row with Donna Molloy, 37, and stabbed her in the left temple with a kitchen knife with a 3in (7.6cm) blade.

Jonathan Karani, prosecuting, told the court yesterday (Friday 4 October) that police had been unable to trace Miss Molloy – but she had not required surgery for her wounds.

She had a stab wound and bleeding on the brain in more than one place and several fractures to her skull.

District Judge Kelly said that the boy was fortunate not to be facing a murder charge.

She said: “It was very lucky that that lady came off as she did. She could very easily have died. You could have killed somebody.”

Stephen Paley, defending, said that his client had been drawn into county line drug dealing from the age of 16, adding: “He was being completely exploited.”

Mr Paley said that he was small, gentle and vulnerable, although prone to temper tantrums, with learning difficulties and “a misplaced sense of protectiveness towards his mother”.

In January, he had been kidnapped and bundled into the boot of a car, leading to a state of anxiety, hyper-vigilance and fear which was why he foolishly carried a knife.

Mr Paley said, that without wishing to blame the victim for what had happened, she was shouting: “Come on! Come on then!”

In a statement to police Miss Molloy said: “I felt a strike to the head and it felt like a punch.”

She put her hands to her head and said: “I felt a knife in the side of my head and pulled it out.

“I felt like I was dying at the time and I just wanted my mum.

“I don’t know this person and I don’t know why he did this to me.”

Mr Karani said that the boy had previously been caught with another offensive weapon, a sword.

The stabbing of Miss Molloy was captured by security cameras, the court was told, as was the earlier kidnapping.

And the kidnapping and the boy’s mental health and learning difficulties were among the reasons for what the judge said “might be considered a lenient sentence”.

But it was passed only after lawyers and the judge had been through the circumstances of the assault, pre-sentence reports about the boy and the relevant sentencing guidelines.

She told the boy that he had a better future ahead if he was prepared to put the work in while he was in custody but she added: “You must do your time.”

Detective Constable Manni Guffogg said: “This deeply concerning attack, following the most minor of provocations, highlights the serious impact of knife crime and underscores the need for continued efforts to educate individuals about the dangers and consequences of carrying a knife.

“We need to ensure people understand that perceived slights must never be answered with this kind of brutal and reckless violence.

“The victim in this matter should be commended for providing her evidence to the police in extremely challenging circumstances.”

Miss Molloy was at the new year party at a squat in North Street, Brighton, when 24-year-old Bill Henham, from Henfield, was stabbed to death in January 2020.

She gave evidence at the subsequent murder trial. Four men were convicted and jailed.

At Lewes Crown Court in March 2008, Judge Charles Kemp jailed Molloy for five and a half years for her part in a vicious attack which left a man out cold.

David Head, 48, died a month after he was kicked and beaten unconscious in November 2006 from an unrelated heart attack.

Molloy was 20 and living in Sheridan Terrace, Hove, when she was sentenced for the savage attack.

She was seen to kick the victim’s head and body when he came out of his flat in Ashton Rise, Brighton, to investigate after the glass communal front door had been kicked in.

She was in her late teens at the time of the attack and her trial at Hove Crown Court  was told that she also shouted at the others to stop as they fled the scene before the police arrived.