Ex-police officer stabbed ex-wife 22 times over £152k divorce payout in 'callous' attack

A former police officer who stabbed and slashed his ex-wife 22 times after being forced to pay her £152,000 in a divorce settlement has been jailed.

Andrew Stevenson launched the "callous" and "cold-blooded" assault on Lyneth Stevenson with two kitchen knives in September this year.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the 58-year-old had lay in wait outside her home and was heard screaming "she has taken everything from me, I want her to die", during the attack.

The couple were married for 27 years but a 2016 divorce had left Andrew "preoccupied to the point of obsession" with what he felt was the injustice at the decision, according to psychiatric reports.

Stevenson, of Morriston, Swansea, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at a previous hearing and was jailed for 16 years.

Lyneth was left with 22 laceration and puncture wounds to her chest, back, arms and legs after the attack with her new partner, William Parsons, eventually wrestling the attacker away from her.

For the Crown, John Hipkin said that Andrew wrote but did not send a text message seemingly intended for one of his two sons he had with Lyneth.

"Forgive me for what I am going to do. She is not robbing £150,000 from us. Look after yourself and the three others. You take care, I will always love you," reported BBC News.

Lyneth was attacked in the early hours of 5 September outside her home in Aberdulais, Neath, and she was able to flee to her flat and call 999 after the assault, while Parsons stemmed the bleeding from her wounds.

WalesOnline reported that she asked paramedics on the way to hospital if she was going to die and the attack had left her anxious and fearful.

She said in a victim impact statement: "My husband took away my normal life when he decided my life was less important than his money, less important than for his children, and hopefully their children, to see their mother."

Judge Keith Thomas told the defendant: "This was a callous, cold-blooded, and premeditated attempt to rid yourself of a financial burden."

Thomas imposed a 21-year extended sentence for public protection, comprising 16 years in custody and a five-year extended licence.

Stevenson has also been made subject to an indefinite restraining order banning him from contacting Lyneth or her new partner.