Jealous Teesside man jailed for brutal knife attack on his ex-partner

Christopher Blakemore attacked Amy Johnson in a fit of rage after he forced his way into her home following a row over cash.

The six-foot six monster repeatedly plunged a knife into Miss Johnson causing multiple stab wounds to her neck, shoulders, chest, stomach, and thighs, after his anger built after he found a used condom in her bathroom bin on a previous visit to her home.

Teesside Crown Court had heard how she was 'one very lucky lady' after all major organs and arteries were missed during the frenzied attack.

Miss Johnson managed to drag herself to safety and locked herself in her bathroom while she called 999 for help.

During his trial, the defendant maintained that he acted in self-defence and the court heard he still retains that stance.

Christopher Blakemore. Picture: CLEVELAND POLICE

Today, Blakemore refused to leave his cell to appear in court and was sentenced to 24 years – 21 years in custody and three years on extended licence – in his absence.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said: “Your son was on the stairs watching you repeatedly stab his mother while she screamed at him to hide in the bathroom.

“Throughout the attack, both in the kitchen and the living room, Amy was repeatedly screaming at you to stop and get off her – you stayed silent throughout.”

He added: “In all you inflicted 31 stab wounds, to her torso, her chest and back. She suffered a collapsed lung. You, on the other hand, had a single minor injury to your thumb.

“I wholly rule out any suggestion that she was the initial aggressor.”

Blakemore, of Ammerston Road, Middlesbrough, was found guilty in December of attempted murder following the brutal attack on his ex-partner on October 13, 2019, at Miss Johnson's home on Marske Lane, Bishopsgarth, Stockton.

In a victim impact statement, Miss Johnson said she had been forced to leave her job as a result of the injuries she suffered at the hands of the 34-year-old and both her and her son have been left traumatised by the knife attack.

“Straight after the incident I was in James Cook hospital in extreme pain and very upset. At this point, I thought I was going to die and was very scared – I didn’t really know what was going on.

“To date, I still relive what happened when I close my eyes,” she said.

“Knowing my son has seen what the defendant did to me has upset me greatly and will stay with me for the rest of my life.

"My son has drawn pictures of a person being stabbed with a knife coming out of them, for his counsellor. He won’t go to sleep unless he’s in my bed now.

"In the last couple of months, he’s been able to talk about what he has seen. He says he thought I was going to die. This has affected me emotionally; it has made me anxious as I worry about how he is feeling."

Jolyon Perks, prosecuting, told the court that the frenzied attack took place in front of their young son.

He said an ‘aggravating factor’ in the case was that the frenzied attack took place in front of the young child who was sitting on the stairs when Blakemore repeatedly stabbed his mother.

Francis Fitzgibbon QC, in mitigation, said their ‘toxic’ relationship resulted in the violence on the day but accepted his client’s ‘loss of control’ ended in the knife attack.

He added: “He knows he is facing a long sentence and the prosect of him being a threat to Amy Johnson when he is released is very remote.”

Blakemore was made subject to an indefinite restraining order.

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