TERRIFYING footage shows the moment a 57-year-old man stalked his wife around their home with a bow and arrow.
Stephen Carr picked up the compound bow he had previously used in target archery competitions after telling his wife Lorna “you are dying tonight”.
Home CCTV captured Stephen Carr brandishing the loaded compound bow[/caption]
Carr was jailed for 17 years after being found guilty of attempted murder[/caption]
He also stabbed his wife Lorna with the pair both drinking on the night[/caption]
The keen archer picked up the weapon to shoot metal-tipped arrows at Lorna, at their home in Strensall, North Yorkshire, a court heard.
Carr then stabbed her six times with a kitchen knife while she was on the phone with emergency services, the court was told.
He was jailed for 20 years after unleashing the “terrifying and frenzied” attack using a bow and arrow.
Cameras installed at the couple’s to assist in the care of the defendant’s elderly mother recorded parts of the attack on the night of September 8 last year.
Now, footage released by cops shows Carr stalking his wife around their house with the weapon before he is seen coolly picking up a knife from the kitchen drawers.
Jurors previously heard Carr told her “you are dying tonight” before he pointed the bow at her and fired three arrows in her direction after he had downed a litre of vodka.
The argument was sparked over the “concerns and stresses of caring for the defendant’s mother” who lived with them at the time, prosecutor Angus MacDonald said during the sentence hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday.
But 57-year-old Carr denied intending to kill his wife and claimed he “blacked out”.
However, a jury convicted him of attempted murder following a trial at the same court last month.
Judge Simon Phillips, sentencing, told the defendant: “During the course of the trial, the jury heard, and to some extent saw, clear evidence that you were intent on killing your wife Lorna.
“You anger towards your wife increased that Sunday night. She tried unsuccessfully to calm you down.”
The court was told the bow was a “heavy and powerful compound bow” which shot metal arrows at a speed of 270 feet per second, which “could cause serious injuries and even death” if used against a person.
Mrs Carr managed to dodge the arrow by closing the door, and the arrowhead lodged itself in it “a split second” after she had been in the doorway, the court heard.
Mrs Carr tried to stop the defendant from using the bow again by attempting to cut the strings with a kitchen knife.
“You threatened to ‘go mental’ if she did that,” Judge Phillips told the defendant Carr.
“You had reloaded your bow and pointed it at her and she says: ‘Do you want murder and blood on your hands?’.”
The defendant then pursued Mrs Carr inside the house where she had sought refuge, struck her on the face with the bow, and said “You are dying tonight”, the court heard.
Mrs Carr then made a 999 call from the bedroom where the defendant cornered her and shot three arrows.
The court heard the arrows missed Mrs Carr, but the defendant went on to stab her six times in the back with a kitchen knife whilst she was on the line with a 999 call operator.
An arrowhead lodged in the door[/caption]
Carr being arrested[/caption]
She was recorded begging for her life and telling the call operator: “He’s got a bow, he’s got a compound bow… Don’t kill me Steve please. Do not kill me you c***. Please! Think of your mum”, a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said.
“This was a terrifying, frenzied and sustained attack”, the judge said.
After the stabbing, Carr retreated to the garden shed on his property where police arrested him while Mrs Carr received medical care, the court heard.
She was taken to hospital for treatment to 10 wounds, including six to her upper back, as well as swelling and bruising to her forehead, shoulders and arms.
She was discharged three days later and has since made a full recovery, the court was told.
According to police, Carr sent a WhatsApp message to his wife after the assault in which he said: “I’m glad I didn’t do what I wanted to do. I did say you were pushing me to far (sic). My bag (sic) sorry.”
‘FRENZIED ATTACK’
During the trial, Carr claimed he “blacked out” and does not recall stabbing his wife, adding that he felt she was “controlling him”, a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said.
His defence lawyer, Gulam Ahmed, told the judge Carr had not displayed abusive or violent behaviour towards his wife prior to the attack, adding: “For a short period Mr Carr certainly lost it, and it is without the background of any abuse, without the background of any violence.
“This was out of character and a one-off.”
The court heard Carr was “heavily intoxicated” throughout the incident which the judge said he took into account as an aggravating factor.
Carr received a sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment with an extended licence of three years, bringing his total custodial sentence to 20 years.
Despite the ordeal, Lorna declined to apply for a restraining order and told the court she wished to resume their relationship, the court heard.
Lorna wrote a letter to the court describing him as a “caring, compassionate man” who helped care for his beloved mum Betty.
She said he had “never been controlling or violent towards her” until the night of the event, when he was a “broken man” and said she has forgiven him for the attack.
Lorna added that she trusted he would never hurt her again, the court heard.
