Frenzied Christmas Day knife attack in Leeds home left victim needing six rounds of surgery
Blood left sprayed across the room, court told
A thug stabbed a man in his own bedroom on Christmas Day in a frenzied assault, leaving him needing multiple rounds of surgery.
Reuben Scotter lunged at the man with the kitchen knife with such ferocity that blood was sprayed around the room, Leeds Crown Court was told.
The 22-year-old was jailed this week after admitting GBH without intent. The victim told the court the attack had a “devastating and life-changing outcome”.
Prosecutor Samuel Sharp said the victim had been out socialising with friends on Christmas Eve last year.
Returning home shortly after 9pm, Scotter’s brother rang him and asked if they could come to his Farnley home.
Scotter, along with his brother and sister, arrived in the early hours of Christmas Day where they all continued to drink.
The victim then said he was going to take a shower before bed, and was in his room when Scotter asked to speak with him.
He told him he needed wait. Scotter returned a short time later and asked again, and the victim again told him to wait again, but was not happy with the way Scotter was speaking to him.
Scotter punched him to the face. A female tried to intervene but he was not deterred, Mr Sharp said.
He then pulled the knife from the waistband of his trousers, stood on the bed to get more height and brought the blade down on the man’s arm “with great force”.
Blood sprayed across the room, and after the victim was able to wrestle the knife from Scotter, he began to feel faint and fell unconscious.
Scotter fled the property before the emergency services arrived.
The victim was taken to hospital where he spent three weeks, undergoing six bouts of surgery.
Scotter was arrested three after the attack when officers came to his home and found him hiding in his wardrobe under a coat.
In a victim impact statement, read by Mr Sharp, the victim said he suffered from PTSD, panic attacks and low mood.
He added: “Every aspect of my life has changed, I’m no longer the man I once was.
“I’m frightened to leave my house and when I do I find myself endlessly looking over my shoulder.
“There’s no place I feel truly safe anymore.”
Scotter, formerly of River View, Wakefield, but now of no fixed address, appeared in court over a video link from HMP Leeds where he was being held on remand.
He has eight previous convictions for 10 offences, including violence and weapons offences.
Mitigating, Anastasis Tasou conceded that custody was inevitable.
He said: “He is still a young man with a lot of life ahead of him. How that goes is largely in his hands.”
He said Scotter was undergoing therapy and “has no desire” to return to a criminal life.
Judge Penelope Belcher was concerned that Scotter had “minimised” his actions.
She jailed him for 37 months, and gave him a 10-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim.