Police described it as ‘an unnecessary attack on two defenceless people and the level of injuries that they sustained were brutal’
A man who stabbed two people in Hull has been handed a lengthy prison sentence as he was branded an “unpredictable individual” who posed a danger to the public. One of his victims said she thought she was going to die when she was stabbed in the neck during the frenzied attack..
Philip Gonsalves left the woman unconscious and bleeding, a court heard. Gonsalves, 48, of New Bridge Road, Hull, admitted attempted murder of the woman, 33, and badly injuring a man, 35, causing grievous bodily harm by stabbing him in the armpit and abdomen on January 25 this year.
The man said he still suffers nightmares of seeing his bowel hanging from his stomach. At Grimsby Crown Court, Judge John Thackray KC jailed Gonsalves for 27 years for the attempted murder offence and a further four years’ extension for the risk of serious harm he poses to the public.
In the dock, Gonsalves said: “What? 31 years?” and gestured with his arm dismissively, before being led away by two court dock officers. Prosecuting, David Godfrey told the court the man and woman met with Gonsalves on Victor Street and there was “something of an exchange”.
He said they walked on to Barnsley Street where an argument flared. The prosecutor said Gonsalves grabbed the head of the woman and slammed it into a fence. He punched the man to the head and stomach. He stabbed him repeatedly. Mr Godfrey said the man fled in panic, leaving the woman behind. Mr Godfrey said the man told how “his bowel was protruding from his stomach”.
He said the woman had been stabbed in the throat but, after regaining consciousness, managed to call a friend who was out walking her dog nearby. She found her “curled up in a ball and bleeding in Victor Street”.
She told her: “Gonzo had done it. He did it to me.” Mr Godfrey said: “She thought she was going to die.” The woman spent 24 days in hospital with the first three intubated. Doctors said it was “good fortune” that none of her neck arteries had been severed.
In her victim impact statement, she said : “It will affect me for the rest of my life.” She described the disfigurement of her neck and the severed neck muscles.
The woman said she was determined to keep “a positive outlook” and had been inspired by the care she received at Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital, saying it “motivated me into a career in nursing, starting voluntarily”.
The man said in his victim impact statement: “These injuries will affect me for the rest of my life. He did not give any thought about the impact it would have on me. I still have nightmares seeing my bowel hanging out of my stomach.”
Mr Godfrey said Gonsalves had a long criminal record with a number of offences of knife-carrying. He was convicted in 2021 of a knife-point robbery at a supermarket.
For Gonsalves, Michele Stuart-Lofthouse told how her client had a traumatic childhood and chaotic life. She added he had a number of complex mental health issues.
Sentencing him, Judge Thackray KC said: “You attacked a male and a female with numerous stab wounds. That could have resulted in, not one, but two fatalities.” He said the woman suffered extremely serious injuries.
“They were undoubtedly life-threatening and she was left with life-long physical and psychological injuries.. You took a knife to the scene and used it on not one, but two people. They were horrific injuries.”
He said the injuries were permanent and irreversible.” He said Gonsalves posed a dangerous risk to the public and extended the 27 years in prison by a further four years. He said two thirds of that will be served in custody before he is considered for parole.
After the hearing, Detective Sergeant Johanna Bielby, from Humberside Police‘s Major Crime Team, said: “Whilst in hospital with life threatening injuries, both the man and woman declared to officers that the person responsible for attacking them was Philip Gonsalves.
“Our enquiries swiftly commenced to locate Gonsalves and understand the circumstances surrounding the incident including extensively reviewing CCTV footage in and around the area, conducting house-to-house enquiries, carrying out analysis of phone data and undertaking various forensic examinations of the multiple scenes following his frenzied attack.
“From CCTV footage, the man and woman were seen to be walking along Victor Street and were later joined by Gonsalves at around 1.44am. All three of them are seen to walk onto Barnsley Street and a vehicle pulls up alongside them where Gonsalves is then seen to walk up to the vehicle alone and speak to the occupants inside.
“Without any provocation or warning, Gonsalves then walks back to the man and woman, grabbing the woman’s head and slamming it into a fence before doing the same to the man and then proceeding to hit him violently to the back of his head and stomach.
“Just six minutes later, the man is seen to run from Barnsley Street along Holderness Road clutching his stomach and covered in blood, whilst Gonsalves calmly walks onto Holderness Road. Within two minutes, the man is on the floor in a pool of his own blood being given CPR by two members of the public until police and ambulance arrive on scene.
“The woman is then seen to exit a property on Victor Street whilst being assisted by a member of the public after Gonsalves laid in wait in the dark to attack her as she left the address. She had sustained three significant wounds to her neck that were so serious, she had to be placed into an induced coma following surgery.
“Crime Scene Investigators attended the scene and obtained swabs of the trails of blood found on Barnsley, Buckingham, and Rosmead Street which linked the victims to the scene.
“DNA of both victims was also forensically recovered from the jacket that Gonsalves was wearing at the time of the attack. This was an unnecessary attack on two defenceless people and the level of injuries that they sustained were brutal, leaving the woman fighting for her life for three weeks and still receiving care for her injuries even today. They are both lucky to be alive.
“Gonsalves is an unpredictable individual who turned on both victims in a matter of seconds and then left them for dead in the street as he attempted to flee the scene to evade arrest. I am pleased that the evidence stacked against him meant Gonsalves decided to plead guilty to attempting to murder the woman and injuring the man causing grievous bodily harm, and he will now be behind bars for a very long time.
“Violent crime, in any form, will not be tolerated in our communities, and we are committed to investigating and holding those to account for their actions.”
The officer added: “If you have any concerns about violent crime in your area, you are urged to contact us on our non-emergency number 101, speak to our officers when you see them out and about, or always call 999 in an emergency.
You can also report anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”