A man who pushed his cousin to the ground and stabbed her 27 times refused to leave his cell at Bedford prison on Wednesday, August 26, 2020, to be sentenced.
Joel Gregory, 20, was convicted of the attempted murder of 18-year-old Bethanie MacSweeney in Hemel Hempstead on Friday, August 21.
He was due to be brought to Luton crown court this morning,but would not leave his cell, telling a prison officer that he “felt ill.” Judge Andrew Bright QC said he would list the case for sentence over a video link from the jail on Thursday, August 27.
Ms MacSweeney, who had arrived at court to read her victim personal statement, told the judge she would rather deliver it when Gregory was present.
During the trial last week the jury heard that after the attack Gregory, of no fixed address, went to his mother’s home in Hemel Hempstead and set fire to his clothes, telling her: “I have slit her throat. I have killed her.”
But 18-year-old Bethanie Macsweeney, 18, who regained consciousness, made her way to a nearby home to raise the alarm.
Footage from a doorcam was played in which she screamed: “Please help me! Please help me!”
Judge Bright said he intended to pass an extended sentence on Gregory saying: “This young man is dangerous.
This is a very serious case. He left her for dead in an isolation spot and then started to destroy his clothing.” Martin Mulgrew, prosecuting, said he would be asking for a restraining order that bans Gregory from having any direct or indirect contact with the victim in the future.
