“Frenzied” knife attacker sentenced to indefinite hospital order after almost killing student in Queensbury

Prosecutor Philip Standfast read powerful impact statements from Leon Dowbenko’s three victims including 24-year-old Taylor Wells who only survived stab wounds to his heart and lung when an ambulance pulled over at the side of the road and a doctor on board performed open heart massage on him.

In July 2020 Mr Wells had to make a desperate escape through a skylight after Dowbenko, then aged just 18, attacked his friend Jake Oldfield with a kitchen knife and also tried to stab Mr Oldfield’s partner Olivia Pentelow.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Mr Wells fell from the roof of the premises in Sand Beds, Queensbury, and in his victim statement he criticised an on-looker who filmed and then posted footage of him while he was fighting for his life on the ground.

“How sick is that?” he asked.

Mr Wells had hoped to do some modelling work, but he said the permanent scarring to chest and abdomen as a result of the surgery had left him looking like Frankenstein’s monster.

The court heard that Mr Oldfield had been left with a permanent scar to the left side of his face and although Dowbenko had tried to stab Miss Pentelow four of five times she had mercifully avoided any serious injury because of the thick dressing gown she was wearing.

As a result of the attack 20 months ago the couple had had to move out of their flat and the court heard that Miss Pentelow had suffered with PTSD.

In August last year a jury convicted Dowbenko, now 20, of two charges of wounding with intent to do grievous bodily and a further allegation of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm with intent.

The jury rejected his defence of insanity, but Judge Jonathan Rose heard expert psychiatric evidence today that Dowbenko’s cannabis use could have contributed to his psychosis or possible paranoid schizophrenia.

In the wake of the attack Mr Wells suggested that Dowbenko, of Fairfax Road, Bradford, had been watching “too many YouTube videos” and had got “hooked” on subjects such as Zodiac star signs.

Dowbenko, who had no previous convictions, is currently remanded at the Newton Lodge medium secure unit and his solicitor advocate Simon Hustler said his client wanted to say he was sorry to his old friends.

“He says he doesn’t look for forgiveness and he’s still trying to understand what happened that day,” said Mr Hustler.

Judge Rose told Dowbenko over a video link to Newton Lodge that Mr Oldfield had allowed him to stay overnight at the flat even though he appeared to be mentally unwell.

He said seconds before launching the frenzied knife attack the next day Dowbenko had asked Mr Oldfield if he knew that he loved him.

After the attack on the three friends Dowbenko stabbed himself before jumping from a window.

Judge Rose said the open heart massage performed at the side of the road on Mr Wells had undoubtably saved his life, but the damage to him emotionally was incalculable.

The judge said he was satisfied that the horrific attack was brought about by a deterioration in Dowbenko’s mental health and it was necessary to protect the public to make a hospital order under Section 37 of the Mental Health without limit of time.