Terrifying CCTV footage reveals the moment a woman on a train stabbed her friend in an attempt to murder her in what has been described as a "frenzied and sustained" knife attack. Lisa Savage, who is known to be obsessed with serial killers, stabbed her friend's face and neck repeatedly while other passengers in the carriage watched in shock. Reports say that the 42-year-old woman pulled out a knife from her handbag and stabbed Sarah Hayton multiple times over a four-minute period.
A train guard finally saw the victim "crawling" through the carriage she was stabbed in surrounded by her own blood. The guard immediately called the authorities once he saw her losing blood and color with the fear that she might die.
Wales Online reported that Savage was able to force open the doors to the train with blood-stained hands and fled once the train came to a halt. She was arrested by officers at a park nearby and was allegedly "shouting unintelligibly." The victim's eye sockets were punctured in the attack, and she has now been left traumatized by it aside from having on-going health issues.
Lisa Savage (Source: British Transport Police)Savage was sentenced at the Newport Crown Court on October 16 to life in prison with a minimum of eight years and four months behind bars for the attempted murder which she confessed to. The court also heard that she had received a life sentence for slashing an ex-boyfriend with a knife in the past.
The recent attack took place on an Arriva Trains Wales service at around 11 p.m. on April 15 as it was approaching the Chepstow railway station in Wales. It was reported that Savage turned on her friend when she said that she did not want to go visit Savage's mother in Aberdare. Judge Eleri Rees stated that the attack lasted for four minutes and that there were a "large number of blows." Hayton also said that Savage told her during the attack: "Go to sleep."
The Newport Crown Court heard that Savage told the authorities after she was caught: "I f***ing did it, didn’t I? F***ing brilliant. Psycho Killer." Prosecutor Anna Midgley said that Savage and Hayton were living in the same hostel in Birmingham after they were both released from prison. The court also heard that the women had known each other for about 20 years but rekindled their friendship only recently.
The prosecutors also said that Savage had a "difficult relationship" with her mother who sent her a message saying she did not want to see her daughter anymore. Hayton said that her friend's behavior became "unstable" in the days that led to the vicious attack on the train. Midgley said: "She became fixated with programmes about murder and serial killers." The court also heard that Savage had wanted to meet her mother and "have it out with her."
(Source: British Transport Police)Prosecutors said that Hayton had agreed to go with Savage from Selly Oak to see her mother and they changed trains at Gloucester. Midgley then said that Savage had taken two knives from the kitchen in the hostel before the women left. The court heard that they were both under the influence of alcohol and drugs during the journey.
Witnesses on the platform at the Gloucester station reportedly heard Savage calling Hayton a "slag" before punching her friend in the face. Midgley said: "The attack began when Ms. Hayton said she no longer wanted to go to Aberdare." Hayton told the authorities later that she had been concerned with her own license conditions and this is when Savage started "raging."
Jurors heard that a fragment of the knife was recovered from a seat in the train which was found to have the attacker's DNA on it. The rest of the knife has still not been found, but another was seized from Savage's backpack. Prosecutors told the jury that she made multiple confessions to the police in the interview. One of the things she said was that she had been plotting to kill her mother and also referred that she would do "something horrific."
According to the prosecutors, Hayton suffered from wounds to her face and neck which were later treated with 67 superficial sutures and 20 deep sutures. She was treated for five facial wounds including two of them that penetrated her eye socket. Midgley said that the victim has ongoing problems with her eyesight which has now become less than the standard that is required to drive. The court was also told that her upper eyelid now droops and may require surgery. She also gets double vision whenever she looks down.
(Source: British Transport Police)Hayton told the authorities that she was "terrified" while the attack was taking place and that she thought she was going to die. The prosecutor summarized her victim impact statement saying: "She finds it difficult to understand how someone she knew so well could perpetrate these offenses on her." Hayton also said that she suffers from flashbacks and the phantom feeling of the knife stabbing her.
The court heard that Savage has multiple previous offenses on her record and that 15 of them were for violence. She was convicted first when she was just 14-years-old for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and then for wounding. 42-year-old Savage from Weoley Park Road in Birmingham has confessed to an attempted murder and two counts of possessing a knife. She appeared in court via a video link from the HM Prison Bronzefield for the hearing. Defense attorney Stephen Thomas said that there was no formal pre-sentence report for Savage. The judge then said: "She refused to cooperate with the probation officer."
Thomas then told the court that his client refused to speak to someone she did not know. He added: "She did not want to re-live the trauma of the incident again." The court also heard that Savage had "significant" mental health problems and has already been diagnosed with Emotional Unstable Personality Disorder and Dissocial Personality Disorder which were both complicated by her drug and alcohol abuse.
The jurors also heard that Hayton was on the license at the time of the attack as a part if an extended sentence. Judge Rees said that the amount of time Savage spends behind bars had not reduced the risk she poses to the general public. In the sentencing remarks, she said: "You are dangerous and pose a high risk of serious harm to the public through further such offending."
Temporary Detective Chief Inspector Jaci Thomas from the British Transport Police said in a statement: "This was a shocking and vicious attack, and I am pleased we have been able to bring Lisa Savage to justice. I would particularly like to thank my team for their outstanding contributions to this case, which has seen [her] receive a long custodial service and a dangerous woman removed from the streets."
