AssetID: 55158158
Headline: Horrifying moment woman pulls knife before stabbing stranger five times in the back
Caption: WORDS BYLINE: Julia Roberts Harrowing footage shows the moment door staff shouted “watch out behind you” as a woman raised a knife above her head before repeatedly stabbing a stranger in the back. Natasza Zakrzewska launched her "random and ferocious" attack on an unsuspecting grandmother as the victim walked home from bingo along Biggin Street in Dover. CCTV captured the 47-year-old pulling the large kitchen blade from her bra and rushing up to the woman from behind. Without warning or saying a single word, she then plunged it multiple times into the left shoulder and arm area of the woman's coat. Jurors at Canterbury Crown Court heard that had it not been for the thickness of the victim’s clothing and the actions of "exceptionally brave" door staff at the nearby Dizzy Donkey club, the attack on January 17 this year would have continued and "easily proved" fatal. Just seconds earlier, the security supervisors had been alerted to the knife-wielding Zakrzewska by two teenage girls she had confronted with the blade as they were walking home from the cinema. It was as the door staff were helping the "hysterical" youngsters that they spotted Zakrzewska walking towards them, only to suddenly turn her attention to the victim. Having seen her quicken her pace and raise the knife above her head, CCTV shows them shouting “watch out behind you” as they raced across the street. Zakrzewska then unleashed her "wholly unprovoked" onslaught before being wrestled by the brave door staff, who removed the weapon from her grip. In a separate clip from a body-worn camera, the blade can be heard clattering to the ground. Although the victim initially thought her attacker, who she described as looking "dead behind the eyes", had simply punched her, she later described how the ordeal had had a profound physical and psychological impact. The teenagers also told police of being left "petrified" by Zakrzewska, who was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with attempted murder. Zakrzewska, of Salisbury Road, Dover, later denied the offence, as well as one of threatening another with an offensive weapon, and was due to stand trial. But on Tuesday, September 30, Judge Simon James ruled after considering a total of six psychiatric reports and hearing expert medical evidence, that the paranoid schizophrenic was neither fit to plead nor stand trial. Therefore, a jury was sworn in to decide if the defendant was responsible for the stabbing - namely, whether she "did the act" - rather than consider the issue of guilt in a case where the evidence against Zakrzewska was not only said to be "compelling" but was also undisputed by her defence team. As well as being seen to "smirk and glare" in the immediate aftermath of the stabbing, she herself told police on being detained "I stabbed a woman" before adding it was a "planned" murder bid. The court heard that while in custody, Zakrzewska has also repeatedly stated that if released she would commit murder, and said she believed the victim - who was unknown to her - was running a "torture chamber" at the Gala Bingo venue. Opening the case against the defendant, who is currently under the care of the medium secure Trevor Gibbens Unit in Maidstone and was not required to attend the hearing, prosecutor Michael Hillman outlined how the defendant initially accosted the two girls shortly after 10pm before knifing the victim five times. The youngsters, who cannot be identified due to their age, encountered a "stumbling and slurring" Zakrzewska in Worthington Street, where she blocked their path and then pulled the sharply-pointed weapon from her underwear to brandish it at them at chest height. The frightened girls fled and raised the alarm at the Dizzy Donkey. Staff, in turn, then alerted Dover District Council CCTV operators who, having been given a description of Zakrzewska, were able to locate and track her. As Zakrzewska continued in the direction of the club, the victim left the bingo venue at the end of her "pleasant" evening and with her £300 winnings, the court was told. But she was just walking past WHSmith when she was attacked. Describing the footage, Mr Hillman told the court: "As she was walking home, she was spotted by the defendant, who turned and started to follow her. "Suddenly, the defendant approached her very quickly from behind and it can be clearly seen she is holding a large kitchen knife. "Then, it can be clearly seen that she attacks her from behind, stabbing her five times in quick succession and in the back. "Fortunately, the door staff, who had put the teenagers inside the club for their protection, had seen what was going on - had seen the defendant and the attack - and rushed over and grabbed the knife, preventing her from continuing this attack. "They were able to disarm her, all the while the defendant continued struggling with them. "It is very clear that had the exceptionally brave door staff not intervened, the attack would have continued and the outcome for [the victim] may have been very different." Among the victim’s injuries was a large stab wound to her back, which required treatment at London's King's College Hospital. Having been described by police who attended the scene as being "conscious, calm and in good spirits", the victim later recalled the moment she felt what she thought was a tap on her shoulder. She said she had not heard any approaching footsteps and briefly thought it was someone alerting her to having left something behind at bingo. "Quickly I realised this was not the case and I felt I was being punched. I then felt a bit of sharp pain but I didn't know what it was," she explained. "I turned round and there was a female - I looked at her face and she looked dead behind the eyes. "She was just focused on my back area where she was assaulting me. It felt like I was punched and hit three or four times. "The female didn't say a word." She added she could not fathom out what was going on until she saw a knife being pulled off her attacker. "It was only once they [the door staff] pulled this female off me that I got to look at her properly. I had never seen her before," continued the victim. "I didn't think or know I had been stabbed until I saw the knife." Among the door staff who witnessed the brutal attack and intervened were Ben Pilott, Thomas Endersby and Valkyrie Lawless. Mr Pilott recalled initially grabbing hold of Zakrzewska's right arm and then the blade to prevent being injured himself in the struggle, while Mr Endersby described shouting out a warning as Zakrzewska aimed the knife at her victim before "putting all her body weight" behind the stabbings. In her statement read to the court, Ms Lawless explained how the team had helped the crying teenagers before racing to the victim’s aid. Describing the stabbing itself, the door supervisor said Zakrzewska had wielded the knife "like a dagger" in her right hand while using her left hand to "almost hold" the victim as she attacked her "with force". With the jury having heard the prosecution case, watched the CCTV and been told that the evidence was not disputed, defence barrister John FitzGerald simply explained it was his role to "protect the interests" of the accused. "You are tasked with establishing whether an act has been done by her, and it would be ridiculous for me to stand here and suggest otherwise," he added. Having retired to consider the evidence, the jury returned with its unanimous decision that it was satisfied Zakrzewska had done the act after nine minutes' deliberation. The court then heard several victim impact statements from the victim, the two teenagers and a number of the door staff. The grandmother described how the incident had been "truly devastating" and the past eight months "unbearable". She revealed that not only does she suffer from ongoing pain and nerve damage which impedes full use of her arm, but had also been diagnosed with PTSD and left questioning whether she wanted to continue living. The incident has also made her hypervigilant and reluctant to leave her home, other than for work. Describing herself as "terrified", she added: "She [the defendant] lives in my every day. Words will never begin to explain the impact this woman has had on me. "It was an exceptionally callous act. Even after she had been stopped from stabbing me, she wanted to finish the job. "Without the people there in that moment, I strongly believe I wouldn't be alive now. I am endlessly grateful to them. "It is the kindness they showed me that I will forever remember." The two teenagers spoke of their shock and fear that they would be stabbed. One told police: "I can only describe being frozen in the moment. I stood still and everything around me slowed down. "The next thing I remember was [my friend] grabbing my right arm and pulling me away. The female was still holding the knife." Her friend also stated: "When the female pulled the knife out I was so scared and in fear of my own safety and my friend's. "When I was running away it didn't feel real, like I was in a nightmare. I cannot comprehend why someone would bring a knife out and use it." Ms Lawless said the impact on her and the door staff team had been "profound". "We were victims of witnessing a horrendous and disturbing situation. We question every day whether we did enough," she said. "We are told we did, but our minds are curious things and distract from reality." But she added that "more than anything" she was grateful the victim was safe. Having told the court that Mr Endersby was left with sleep problems and had to seek medical help, the prosecutor concluded: "It clearly had a profound effect on all of them." Before the jury had been sworn in, the court heard Zakrzewska not only had a "severe and enduring" mental disorder but also a long history of not complying with medical treatment when provided in the community. Furthermore, her condition was exacerbated by alcohol and amphetamine abuse, and she had refused all treatment since December last year. On passing sentence, Judge James said that given the nature of the attack, there was little doubt the defendant posed a significant risk of serious harm to others and, had it not been for her diagnosis, she would have been handed a lengthy jail term on conviction. However, he explained that in light of her mental disorder and the requirement for lifelong treatment, he had no doubt that the most appropriate sentence was one where she would be detained in a psychiatric unit until she is no longer considered a danger. Imposing a hospital order under the Mental Health Act, Judge James said Zakrzewska had been intent on killing her victim in the street that night. "On January 17, you were seen threatening random strangers in Dover town centre with a kitchen knife," he said in addressing the defendant as if she stood in the dock. "Fearing for their safety, two young teenagers were able to run away but the unfortunate [victim] was not so lucky. "This lady, who was unknown to you, was attacked from behind and stabbed five times. "Mercifully, security staff from a nearby nightclub intervened. Had they not bravely done so it appears that you were intent on killing your victim. "Your victim sustained a punctured lung and a large laceration. Had it not been for the thickness of the coat she was wearing, the attack could easily have proved fatal. "One cannot underestimate the psychological impact of being the victim of such a random and ferocious attack, and it is clear that [the victim] has suffered profound and permanent physical and psychological harm." Judge James also praised the bravery of the door staff and recommended Mr Pilott and Mr Endersby in particular for a High Sheriff of Kent Award. "Whilst it seems to me that all of the nightclub door staff team deserve to be commended for the assistance they provided to all three victims, I do think that Mr Pilott and Mr Endersby who, without any thought for their personal safety, immediately intervened to stop the attack and with the help of their colleagues, who also ran toward rather than away from danger, were able to disarm the defendant, deserve special mention," he remarked. "Particularly as it seems to me had they not done so, there was a very real prospect that this attack could have proved fatal. "Therefore, I am going to recommend both for a High Sheriff's Award, which will involve a small financial reward and a certificate commending their bravery. "However, all the staff deserve the thanks of the court for their bravery." The charge of threatening another with an offensive weapon in relation to the two teenagers was ordered to be left on the court file. Speaking to KentOnline after the hearing, Mr Pilott recalled the moment he and the door staff grabbed Zakrzewska. “As I was trying to get the knife out of her hand it was slowly dropping toward my wrist,” he said. “Just as it made contact with my wrist, I managed to snap the blade from the handle. “Luckily, it was one of those large kitchen knives with a plastic handle. If it was the other kind that is all metal, I hate to think what could have happened.” He added: “I have worked in a number of venues with a large number of different door staff over the years and the bravery and professionalism shown by the team that night was amazing. They are a real credit to the security industry.” Mr Pilott and the three door staff are all understood to have been nominated for police public bravery awards.
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