Derbyshire dad locked “interfering” wife in house after stabbing her multiple times then drove away “leaving her to die”, court hears

Mark Taylor’s wife survived her horrific injuries after a paramedic broke into her Baslow home through a window after she alerted neighbours by shouting through a “tethered” window.

Derby Crown Court heard Taylor did “everything” in his power to ensure the death of his “interfering” wife by locking the doors to their home, taking the keys and removing her phone as she lay “dying” on the floor unable to call for help.

He was stopped by police over 60 miles away the same day with the couple’s 13-year-old son who had witnessed the attack and asked officers “whether his mother was still alive”.

Judge Martin Hurst told Taylor: “You made a concerted effort to murder your wife, stabbing her four times with two kitchen knives. You took significant steps to ensure she could not secure help and drove away, leaving her to die.”

In a statement read out to the court Taylor’s now ex-wife wrote: “I have suffered and our lives have been truly devastated. I cannot return to our home due to the trauma.

"I am suffering from severe anxiety and depression – (my son) has regular flashbacks and nightmares. He is scared in school during cookery classes because there are knives there.

"He cries at the situation we are in and says his dad has ruined his life and says he will never forget what he saw. I cannot believe he left me on the floor dying after more than 30 years of marriage.”

The court heard by the time of the attack – February 15 – Taylor’s marriage was in “serious trouble” and the previous evening an outing together with the couple’s son ended in a “bitter argument”.

Further arguments on February 15 culminated in Taylor punching the victim in the face three times. After being told he had to go, he confronted his wife in the kitchen, asking if she “really meant it”.

After confirming, the court heard Taylor walked “calmly” towards a knife block and stabbed his wife to the arm and neck with a boning knife. When a blow aimed at the victim’s neck was blocked by her arm, breaking the knife, Taylor used its blunt end to strike at the woman’s neck.

The defendant then “re-armed” himself with another, smaller knife, stabbing her to the chest and abdomen – with a 9cm stab wound to her chest penetrating the woman’s lung.

Taylor’s wife, the court heard, told him she was “dying” to try and stop the attack and their 13-year-old autistic son who witnessed it “pleaded with her not to die”.

As Taylor began to leave, the victim called 999. At which point Taylor took her phone and locked the door behind him, taking the key and their son with him and driving away.

The court heard all other windows in the house were already locked. Judge Hurst said: “She was trapped, dying as she thought, without a mobile or landline handset.”

The victim alerted neighbours by shouting through upstairs windows which opened a few inches on tethers. Paramedics reached the victim by breaking through an upstairs window using a ladder.

All of the downstairs windows were locked with a key which was later found by emergency services.

Police caught up with Taylor 65 miles away near Chester with his son, whose first question to officers was “whether his mother was still alive”.

Taylor, the court heard, had previous convictions for assault with actual bodily harm, kidnap and robbery and a public order offence as part of a group of animal rights activists.

During the robbery and kidnap in the late 1980s Taylor forced his neighbour to withdraw £200 cash from a bank machine after discovering his then partner and the neighbour were in a relationship.

His defence barrister said the defendant now had breathing difficulties and cancerous lumps and was at “a very low ebb” suffering for many years with depression. While the attack was put down to a “blow-up” which was not premeditated.

Judge Hurst said: “You made a concerted effort to murder your wife, stabbing her four times with two kitchen knives. You took significant steps to ensure she could not secure help and drove away, leaving her to die.

"If the injury to her chest had been more serious she would have died – you followed through a pre-formed plan to kill by taking the two telephones and locking her in and driving away.

“It is of course a fact that you will lose contact with your son but that is what you feared when you decided to take this course – you hoped your wife would die and you would then be his only carer.

"You hoped to be able to demonstrate to social services your love for him and you would have hoped that he would have been put in your care without the interfering presence of your wife.

“You did everything in your power short of a further attack to ensure that she died. Your antecedents demonstrate a person with willingness to take calculated steps to harm others.”

Taylor, of Wheatlands Lane, Baslow, was found guilty after a trial of attempted murder. He was jailed for 23 years and ordered to serve at least two-thirds of the term in custody with a five-year extended licence period.

He was handed an indefinite restraining order in respect of his wife and son.