A MAN who attempted to murder his partner and her mother in Warrington after celebrating his birthday has been sent to prison for 16 years.
Simon Cragg, aged 31, from Alder Road in Woolston, pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder at Liverpool Crown Court – although the court was told he claimed to have no memory of what had happened.
The court heard how on May 6 Cragg had been happily celebrating his birthday with his partner, aged 29, and her parents.
Cragg’s partner and her mother had all gone to bed by 11pm before Cragg unexpectedly woke his partner’s mother, aged 53, in the early hours of the morning and headed downstairs with her, his partner following. She heard her mother say “What are you doing? Stop it” followed by a scream and saw her fall to the floor. Cragg then came towards his partner with a knife and, despite trying to stop him, he attacked her.
Despite having been stabbed numerous times his partner managed to escape to a neighbour’s house and raised the alarm thinking that her mother had been killed by Cragg.
When officers arrived at the scene they heard a sound similar to machinery or power tools within the garage and forced their way in. Cragg was discovered injured lying on the floor with an axe, chainsaw and knife near to him and was taken to hospital.
Both victims suffered multiple stab wounds and were taken to Manchester Infirmary and even now they are continuing to recover from their injuries both physically and mentally.
Detective Constable Emily Teare, of Warrington CID, said: “Cragg’s actions that day have left a family completely devastated. The two victims sustained nasty injuries, which required extensive hospital treatment, and they will have to live with what happened to them for the rest of their lives.
“The substantial prison sentence handed to Cragg reflects the serious nature of the crime – however, it will never take away the devastation he has caused to all those involved. While the motive behind Cragg’s atrocious actions may never be known, it is clear his intentions were to cause serious harm.
“I want to take the time to thank the victims for their support throughout this case – helping to secure a conviction against a dangerous man.”
