Man who stabbed ex-partner 17 times at office in Hampshire jailed for 26 years

Anwar Ashraf, 39, forced his way into building in Whiteley, where Carla Skeites was working

A man has been jailed for 26 years for attempted murder after he stormed into his ex-partner’s office building and stabbed her 17 times in front of colleagues.

Anwar Ashraf, 39, forced his way into the office in Whiteley, Hampshire , where Carla Skeites was working, having bombarded her with messages demanding her to go outside to speak to him.

Armed with a kitchen knife he had brought from home, Ashraf subjected Skeites to the attack in the lobby of the office block, stabbing her 17 times with “severe levels of force” as she tried to flee up a set of stairs.

A colleague restrained Ashraf and when police arrived he told officers: “What would you have done if your partner cheated on you?”

The judge in the case said it was a “miracle” Skeites survived after she suffered life-threatening injuries including a collapsed lung and two broken ribs. Ashraf was jailed on Friday for 26 years at c crown court.

The violent assault took place on 30 April last year.

Ashraf had a drinking problem and became obsessed with Skeites, accusing her of cheating on him despite the relationship having ended, the court previously heard.

He sent her messages threatening her, and a couple of days before the attack, he said he was going to kill her, jurors were told.

He turned up at her office with a kitchen knife he had taken from his home and demanded to speak to her outside.

The court was told Ashraf was drunk and was being obsessive and persistent, and when Skeites turned to go back inside, he followed her into the lobby and attacked her.

Ashraf was convicted of attempted murder after a trial. He previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of a knife, but denied wanting to kill Skeites.

In her victim impact statement, Skeites said: “Before April 30 I worked full time in a job I was in for the last 20 years. On April 30 my life as I had known it suddenly changed. I still struggle to comprehend what happened that day. I have been in survival mode for many months.”

She said she was in the hospital for 10 days after the attack and had a collapsed lung, two broken ribs and multiple wounds all over her body.

“I sustained life-threatening injuries that day. Asking the question to the many amazing hospital staff ‘am I going to die’ and not getting the answer you want to hear of ‘we are doing everything we can’,” she added.

Skeites said she was still trying to recover physically and mentally from her injuries a year after the attack.

Sentencing Ashraf, the judge Paul Dugdale said: “The injuries that you caused to Carla Skeites will have a devastating effect upon her life. This phrase that is so often said in court but is very relevant in this case, it is a miracle that she survived.”

Ashraf was given an extended sentence of 31 years, with 26 years in custody and five years on license.

A lifetime restraining order was made against Ashraf for him not to contact Skeites.