A husband has been jailed for 17 years after trying to murder his wife with a bow and arrow and knife.
Stephen Carr, 57, told his wife Lorna before stabbing her with a kitchen knife six times: ‘You are dying tonight.’
Lorna begged for survival while she called 999 from their home in Strensall, York.
Carr was found guilty of attempted murder after the September 8, 2024, attack and was sentenced today to 17 years in prison.
He had chased her around the house with the medieval-type weapon before knifing her in the back in their bedroom.
CCTV from inside Carr’s own home captured the attack.
Carr fired an arrow straight at his wife, but she managed to close the door just in time to protect herself.
Lorna then frantically broke several arrows to stop him from using them against her.
As she fled to the bedroom to escape him, he fired three more unbroken arrows at his wife.
Lorna could be heard telling dispatchers, ‘He’s got a bow, he’s got a compound bow,’ before screaming, ‘Don’t kill me, Steve, please. Do not kill me you c**t. Please! Think of your mum.’
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Carr then plunged a kitchen knife into her back as she huddled in a foetal position and screamed to the call operator.
He then retreated to the garden shed, where police later discovered him.
He also sent a WhatsApp message to his wife after stabbing, telling her: ‘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.’
Lorna managed to survive the attack after surgery at Leeds General Infirmary.
She told Judge Simon Phillips KC she had forgiven her husband for his attack and said she believed he had been a ‘broken man’ that night.
In the trial at Leeds Crown Court, Carr told the jury he followed his wife around the house with the bow and arrow to scare her into leaving him alone.
He claimed his attack came after a build-up of pressure from working full-time, as well as from his caring responsibilities for his elderly mother and his alcohol dependence.
He denied intending to kill Lorna, claiming his skills as a bowman meant he could have if he wanted to.
The prosecution argued Carr was overwhelmed, drunk and angry during the frenzy. They said he had developed an intention to kill his wife and had lost all ability of self-control.
Carr suggested he had ‘blacked out’ during the knife attack.
The jury found Carr guilty of attempted murder and he was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court to 17 years in prison today.
Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Jonathan Sygrove of North Yorkshire Police said domestic violence takes many forms.
He added: ‘It’s hard to imagine the terror the victim felt being shot at with a bow and arrows, then set on with a knife by her own husband.
‘This was also a harrowing incident for our officers and control room staff who responded to the 999 call, and their professionalism ensured Carr was promptly located and arrested before anything further could happen.
‘While we apply high levels of discretion when we deal with domestic violence, it’s also important we raise awareness and highlight the work we do to tackle it, so people have the confidence to come forward.’
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