Young Mother Stabbed in Neck

[Guest Lottie]

I know this area well..this is just awful.

A young mother is fighting for her life after being stabbed in the neck as she pushed her two-year-old son in his buggy in Surrey.

The attack took place on Wednesday afternoon in Burnhams Road, a quiet residential area of Little Bookham.

Police believe the 26-year-old victim was stabbed by a man who had approached her shortly before the incident.

The woman is said to be in a "critical condition" at a London hospital. No details of the man have been released.

'Extremely rare'

Det Supt Adrian Harper said: "I would like to reassure the community that this type of attack is extremely rare to this area and there have been no similar incidents.

"We are committing considerable resources to this investigation and extra officers will be on patrols in the area during the day."

Officers have appealed for information from anyone in the area at the time.

They are particularly keen to speak to anyone who saw or heard anything suspicious in the area of Little Bookham Street, Oakenwood and Burnhams Road between 1530 and 1700 BST.

link

[TheBlueDragon]

That is so messed up, stabbing a single mother while her kid was there and all.........just so sad.

[__Kratos__]

Thats the whole story...? There has to be to the story then that. I mean, normally people don't walk up to you and stab you in the neck for no reason.

[Guest Lottie]

Kratos, Why would there be a story behind it? This was not a normal person, he wanted her money.

Stabbed mother shows improvement

The condition of a young teacher stabbed in the neck has "slightly improved", according to Surrey Police.

Abigail Witchalls, 26, is still critical at St George's Hospital, south London, after being attacked on Wednesday afternoon in Little Bookham.

She was stabbed as she pushed her 20-month-old son Joseph in a buggy.

Meanwhile, police say they are following "one major line of inquiry". A blue Peugeot car was seen travelling quickly away from the scene.

Police said three landscape gardeners were driving on a road near the scene when they saw the car going the opposite way.

The attack happened on the private Burnhams Road in Little Bookham, in an area believed to be one of the safest in the country.

This is the lowest serious crime area in Surrey which has the lowest serious crime in England and Wales

Chief Superintendent Rob Price

Surrey Police

Surrey 'safest force in UK'

Police say they are treating it as attempted murder and have reiterated their "determination" to catch her attacker.

Ch Supt Rob Price said he had an "open mind" on any links with other cases, such as the Rachel Nickell murder.

Her 20-month-old son Joseph was shocked but unhurt and is being looked after by family.

Bedside vigil

Surrey Police said it is not yet known exactly what happened or why she was stabbed.

Ch Supt Price said speculation about a motive, including suggestions of an attempted robbery that went wrong, was "unhelpful".

Officers have searched a large area for a weapon but say nothing had been found.

The only description police have given of the attacker is that he was a white man.

Abigail Witchalls received a single stab wound to the neck

Mrs Witchalls' mother, Professor Sheila Hollins, who coincidentally works as a psychiatrist at St George's in Tooting, is at her daughter's bedside.

Mrs Witchalls' husband Benoit was at the family home with relatives.

Police have been criticised for failing to make a public appeal until Thursday - 18 hours after the attack on Mrs Witchalls, who works part-time teaching English to immigrant women.

Officers said it took them some time to establish what happened.

Affluent area

Ch Supt Price, area commander for East Surrey, said police were determined to find the attacker.

He said: "This is obviously a very quiet, suburban, affluent area.

"This type of incident is very, very rare indeed. This is the lowest serious crime area in Surrey, which has the lowest serious crime in England and Wales."

Police said people in the area should not panic and there should not be "additional concern".

He added that it was too early in the investigation to make any links between the stabbing and other high-profile crimes such as the murder of Rachel Nickell, whose killer has never been caught.

"You keep an open mind on something like that," said Ch Supt Price.

"I think it's understandable that people will reflect on other well-known cases but this is early on in the investigation and... the facts are still unclear."

Ironically figures published on Thursday showed that the number of serious violent crimes in Surrey between April and December 2004 was 208, 35% lower than the number for any other police force area.

'Wonderful daughter-in-law'

Father-in-law James Witchalls described his daughter-in-law as a "wonderful" woman.

The stab wound was below Mrs Witchalls' neck and went "right below the vertebrae," he told the Evening Standard.

He said: "She is the most lovely woman you can ever imagine.

"She was just on the little walkways when the attacker confronted her and wanted money.

"Obviously, there was a commotion and she was stabbed - she screamed."

Neighbour Robert Hall said he rushed outside after hearing screams and saw Mrs Witchalls on the ground.

"Blood was coming out of her nose and she could not move her head, only her eyes," he said.

[Commander CMG]

Sick "SOAB" there is no place in society for this type of individual... "an eye for an eye"

[Guest Lottie]

Oh it gets worse.....

Knife held against Abigail's son

Abigail Witchalls' attacker first grabbed her two-year-old son and held a knife to his neck, she has told police.

The 26-year-old mother, attacked in Little Bookham, Surrey, first saw the man in a blue four-door estate car.

She tried to run home, but turned back when the man seized Joseph. He then pushed her to the ground and stabbed her once in the back of the neck.

Mrs Witchalls was left paralysed but she has told police what happened using blinks and other signals.

The attacker appeared to have made no attempt to rob her.

Bailed man released

Surrey Police said on Tuesday Mrs Witchalls had been through a "more harrowing experience than they had ever imagined".

Officers paid tribute to her bravery, strength, and intelligence.

They said she was determined to catch her attacker and had insisted on being interviewed for six hours on Monday.

Det Supt Adrian Harper said police had confirmed enough information directly from her that they no longer had to rely on second-hand evidence from witnesses and residents in the village.

He said her statement had "changed the focus of the inquiry".

A man previously arrested and released on bail had been ruled out as a suspect, he said.

Mrs Witchalls told officers she first saw the man at 1545 BST on 20 April as she walked along a public footpath.

She said the vehicle drove towards her and past her and that she and the driver looked at each other.

Mr Harper said: "At that point Abigail started to feel uneasy.

"She started to walk home.

"About three-quarters of the way along the track, she turned and saw the same car had pulled up behind her."

He said the man had got out of the car and was coming towards her.

'Running home'

"She started to panic," he said.

"She began running along the footpath."

Abigail said she reached a gate but could not open it, when she heard the man tell her she had dropped her purse.

"She turned around and saw the man had taken hold of Joseph and was holding the knife to his throat," he said.

"He called to Abigail to come towards him.

"He then grabbed hold of her, held her forcefully down to the ground.

"As he did so he stabbed her once in the back of the neck with the knife.

"He then pushed the buggy on top of Abigail and ran off."

Police said the man was aged between 25 to 30-years-old and was someone she did not know.

He had short, dark, wavy hair and was pale with a long, thin face and wore looped silver earrings.

Abigail told police she believed the man was under the influence of drink or drugs.

Mr Harper said: "He is an extremely dangerous offender.

"Anyone who is prepared to threaten a young child and then try to kill their mother is capable of anything."

Police said that Abigail's condition was continuing to improve and she had sent a personal message thanking people for their prayers and support.

[__Kratos__]

What a wierdo! Just goes around stabbing people... Didn't even rob her, so the stabbing was probably just a little excitement for him. Working out some sick fantasy.

[warden]

What a wierdo! Just goes around stabbing people... Didn't even rob her, so the stabbing was probably just a little excitement for him. Working out some sick fantasy.

590851[/snapback]

A sick fantasy that has caused so much pain and destruction of the whole family

I am starting to see Talons side of the coin when you have people like this running about

[Commander CMG]

Oh it gets worse.....

Knife held against Abigail's son                               

Abigail Witchalls' attacker first grabbed her two-year-old son and held a knife to his neck, she has told police.

The 26-year-old mother, attacked in Little Bookham, Surrey, first saw the man in a blue four-door estate car.

She tried to run home, but turned back when the man seized Joseph. He then pushed her to the ground and stabbed her once in the back of the neck. 

Mrs Witchalls was left paralysed but she has told police what happened using blinks and other signals. 

The attacker appeared to have made no attempt to rob her.

Bailed man released

Surrey Police said on Tuesday Mrs Witchalls had been through a "more harrowing experience than they had ever imagined".

Officers paid tribute to her bravery, strength, and intelligence.

They said she was determined to catch her attacker and had insisted on being interviewed for six hours on Monday.

Det Supt Adrian Harper said police had confirmed enough information directly from her that they no longer had to rely on second-hand evidence from witnesses and residents in the village.

He said her statement had "changed the focus of the inquiry".

A man previously arrested and released on bail had been ruled out as a suspect, he said.

Mrs Witchalls told officers she first saw the man at 1545 BST on 20 April as she walked along a public footpath.

She said the vehicle drove towards her and past her and that she and the driver looked at each other.

Mr Harper said: "At that point Abigail started to feel uneasy.

"She started to walk home.

"About three-quarters of the way along the track, she turned and saw the same car had pulled up behind her."

He said the man had got out of the car and was coming towards her.

'Running home'

"She started to panic," he said.

"She began running along the footpath."

Abigail said she reached a gate but could not open it, when she heard the man tell her she had dropped her purse.

"She turned around and saw the man had taken hold of Joseph and was holding the knife to his throat," he said.

"He called to Abigail to come towards him.

"He then grabbed hold of her, held her forcefully down to the ground.

"As he did so he stabbed her once in the back of the neck with the knife.

"He then pushed the buggy on top of Abigail and ran off."

Police said the man was aged between 25 to 30-years-old and was someone she did not know.

He had short, dark, wavy hair and was pale with a long, thin face and wore looped silver earrings.

Abigail told police she believed the man was under the influence of drink or drugs.

Mr Harper said: "He is an extremely dangerous offender.

"Anyone who is prepared to threaten a young child and then try to kill their mother is capable of anything."

Police said that Abigail's condition was continuing to improve and she had sent a personal message thanking people for their prayers and support.

590843[/snapback]

Yeh I saw that on the BBC news site... Some one should show him when they catch him exactly how to use a knife to inflict a level of pain he could never imagine.

[Walken]

Yeh I saw that on the BBC news site... Some one should show him when they catch him exactly how to use a knife to inflict a level of pain he could never imagine.

...How?

Yup. It's all over the news. What's the world coming too?

[henpeck69]

Lock up the wacko and throw away the key. I hope they catch the offender.

[Commander CMG]

Lock up the wacko and throw away the key.  I hope they catch the offender.

591848[/snapback]

That is far too good for him... and how many times have we seen the UK justice system doing that nowadays?

[brittish_gurl]

Wow, that would hurt. Let's kill the guy who did that!!