Personal injury news

Spurned man attempts to behead wife following car accident

A court has heard how a jealous police officer attempted to murder his ex-wife by beheading her with a saw after intentionally involving her in a car accident.

45-year-old John Kelly rammed his car head first into his former spouse's Mini, smashing it off the road, before leaping into her vehicle where he started to hack at her neck with a 12-inch blade.

Said to be driven to distraction after his wife of nearly 20 years left him for another man, the ex-police sergeant spent nearly five minutes attempting to decapitate 43-year-old Audrey McDowall's head, and was only prevented from killing her when a passing patrol car saw what was happening.

The teacher was rushed to a local hospital where she was found to have a dangerously weak pulse and low blood pressure. Her neck injuries included a gaping wound nearly 15cm long and a severed external jugular, but doctors battled long and hard and managed to save her life.

The policeman that stumbled across the macabre incident told the High Court in Dumfires that he initially thought Kelly was attempting to cut through the seatbelt of the car accident victim in order to free her.

On closer examination, however, Greame Jessop, prosecuting, revealed how the officer "realised that the accused was kneeling on the passenger seat at an angle and he could see him putting some force through the saw as he was sawing at her neck.

"The witness did not appear to be moving or breathing and there was no sign of life or struggle from her."

John Kelly, a sergeant with Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary at the time of the car accident and subsequent attack, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and will be sentenced in the near future.