Man given 34 year sentence after attempting to murder man in his own home

A man has received a lengthy prison sentence after he attempted to murder a man in his own home last Christmas.

Officers were called to Wheelton at 7.23pm on 23rd December 2023 to reports of a stabbing.

Emergency services attended and found the victim - a man in his 60s - with stab wounds. He was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his arm.

Following enquiries, 34-year-old Jacob Gill was arrested within an hour of the call to police.

After a trial at Preston Crown Court earlier this year, a jury took around four hours to unanimously find Gill guilty of attempted murder.

He appeared back in the dock where he was given a sentence totalling 34 years.

After deeming Gill to be a dangerous offender, Judge Robert Altham, The Recorder of Preston, sentenced him to 29 years custody and a further five years on extended licence. Gill will have to serve two thirds of that sentence until he is eligible to go before the Parole Board.

The jury was told how Gill attended the victim’s home, pushed a bow and arrow to his head and said: “I’ve come here to kill you.”

The victim attempted to reason with his attacker, but Gill kept saying he was going to kill him.

The victim managed to get past Gill to the front door and took a video (pictured), which showed Gill holding a knife walking towards him, Gill said: “There’s no reason for me to stop now”.

It was whilst on the driveway that Gill stabbed the victim in his arm and attempted to stab him to the stomach. Gill swung the knife towards the victim’s head on at least three occasions, narrowly missing.

Gill held onto the victim as he bled profusely, when the victim told Gill he was bleeding to death, Gill said: “That’s the plan.”

Gill ran off when a neighbour intervened, having heard the victim’s shouts for help. The neighbour tried to stem the bleeding and made a makeshift tourniquet before officers attended and gave the victim lifesaving first aid.

In a statement to the court, the victim said: “At the time of the attack I truly thought that my life was about to end there and then. The emotion and fear of realising that you are about to die in such an horrific, unjustifiable, brutal and violent manner was absolutely terrifying and as a result my life has been destroyed since that evening and I do not know if I will ever fully recover.”

DC Josh Hodges, of South CID, said: “This was a cowardly attack committed with deadly weapons against a man in his own home – a place he was entitled to feel safe.

“Jacob Gill is clearly a dangerous individual who had planned to carry out this incredibly violent act. I have little doubt that without the brave actions of the victim’s neighbour and the armed response officers, the victim would not be here today.

“It is apparent that this appalling crime continues to have a very real and long-lasting impact on the victim. I wish to praise him for the courage he has shown throughout the trial and sincerely hope that this sentence allows him to begin the process of rebuilding his life.”