'Dangerous' teacher jailed for stabbing woman 15 times

A former teacher has been jailed for 12 years after stabbing his ex-girlfriend 15 times in a "frenzied" attack that left her with life-threatening injuries.

Matthew Jones, 29, unleashed a "mercilessly ferocious" attack on Emma Kirk, 25, inflicting injuries to her neck, head and face during the incident in Bath on 26 February 2024.

Bristol Crown Court heard Jones stabbed Ms Kirk because he would not accept their relationship was over, and the attack was so brutal that it took five men to drag him off her, and even then he tried to strangle her.

He was acquitted by a Jury of attempted murder but pleaded guilty to causing grievously bodily harm with intent.

Sam Jones, prosecuting, said the two met at university, becoming "really good friends" and later "romantically involved" by being "intimate on one or two occasions".

Jones went on to work at Frome College while Ms Kirk worked as a teacher at Hayesfield Girls' School in Bath.

The court heard how Jones had turned up to her workplace and would regularly message her after she ended the relationship.

The stabbing took place when the pair agreed to meet in a lane off Dransfield Way in Bath to return gifts he had bought her.

"The attack was sustained and repeated and involved him stabbing her in the neck, face and head," Mr Jones said.

"While on the ground, he stabbed her 15 times in a brutal and frenzied attack.

"Both of her lungs were punctured. She tried to fight back and suffered multiple wounds to her hands as she grabbed at the blade.

"But for the way she fought back and for the bravery of others she would have been killed.

"He stabbed her multiple times to the neck – one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body.

The jury heard how it took five members of the public, including three university students, to drag Jones from Ms Kirk and disarm him, after which he continued trying to strangle her.

An off-duty police officer, members of the public and paramedics gave Ms Kirk first aid at the scene.

Mr Jones said: "He was arrested and when he was arrested, he told the police, 'Don't show me any respect. I am a monster. I don't deserve it'."

In a victim impact statement, Ms Kirk said she had been left her in a coma for a week.

"I didn't know whether I was dead or alive," she said.

"My family were told by the surgeon that operated on me that the fact that I had survived the attack was a miracle.

"One of the hardest things trying to comprehend is that someone I trusted, a fellow teacher, could act in such a way."

Ms Kirk was unable to work for a year after the attack and said it left her with PTSD and depression.

Ms Kirk's father also provided an impact statement, adding: "Emma had been so badly affected by the attack that she needed the continual support and reassurance of my wife or me.

"She, and to an extent us, no longer felt safe in our own home. This fear is still affecting the whole of my family.

"The family has been to court on numerous occasions and watched a video of her covered in blood saying she thought she was going to die and please tell her family that she loved us.

"None of us will ever forget what we saw and heard."

Jones told police that it was Ms Kirk that brought the knife to the meeting and that he had taken it from her in a struggle.

He argued at a trial in April that he was acting in "self-defence".

The jury acquitted him of the more serious charge of attempted murder.

Ms Kirk's sister Lucy Hedges said the family "feel the not guilty verdict remains an injustice".

"Sadly knife crime, violence against women and girls and misogynistic attitudes are on the rise. Violence is never acceptable," she added.

Passing sentence at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, Judge Julian Lambert said Jones was "dangerous" and gave him an extended sentence comprising of a 12-year custodial term, with an extended licence period of four years – describing it as an "extreme case".

"There was an arrangement for you to meet and no one could have predicted what happened next which was a ferocious assault rarely seen before in the experience of the court," he said.

"What you did was so unpredictable and so mercilessly ferocious and persistent that I am left with the conclusion that you are dangerous."

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