Denbighshire: Man jailed for stabbing mother and two children

A man told children he wanted them to film "your mum getting murdered" as he carried out a knife attack.

Ryan Wyn Jones, 27, stabbed a woman at least 30 times with a bread knife, before stabbing two of her three children in the house at Corwen, Denbighshire.

Mold Crown Court heard Jones left the mother for dead, but she survived with life-changing injuries.

Jones was handed a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 20 years.

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Jones admitted the attempted murder of the mum and one child, and wounding another child, and possessing a knife.

Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, told the court how Jones was laughing throughout the attack.

The attack on the mother was so severe that the tip of the 20cm (8in) bread knife blade snapped off in her head, and she was left with permanent injuries.

Her 10-year-old son suffered stab wounds to his neck and back, needing surgery.

His 12-year-old sister also suffered back and scalp wounds from a knife.

Legal restrictions to protect the identity of the children were imposed by the court.

The hearing was told the attacks took place in the early hours of the morning on 5 May at the victims' home.

Jones entered the house and took a bread knife from the kitchen and then went to the woman's bedroom.

"He then began to stab her repeatedly to the face and body, while she was screaming for him to stop," said Ms Rees.

The screams woke her son, who tried to intervene.

The prosecution said Jones then turned his attention to the child.

Ms Rees said Jones saw the boy as "an obstacle" and he intended to kill him too.

The court heard the attack then spilled into a third bedroom, where two girls were sleeping.

One tried to call for help, but Jones snatched her phone from her and then stabbed her as well.

The children finally fled from the house to get help.

The boy told a family member: "Go help mummy - he is killing her."

He said Jones wanted them to "video this, your mum getting murdered".

His mother also managed to flee, despite her injuries, and police and medical teams were called.

Armed police found Jones sat on a bench away from the house, still holding the knife.

The mother was taken to Royal Stoke Hospital with life-threatening injuries and needed over 10 hours of surgery.

Part of her skull had to be removed, and she has been left with permanent memory problems.

The attack also damaged her mouth, making it difficult to eat, along with visible scars on her face and body.

Her son required surgery for his injuries and "still struggles" with events of the night, and it has "taken away some of his childhood", according to a victim impact statement.

"No child should be subjected to such an ordeal," added a grandparent, describing the boy as "our hero" who raised the alarm and saved his mother.

In her own victim statement, the mother described how she struggles with her memory and struggles with language.

"I still feel dazed by it all," she said.

"No family should be put through this - it is anyone's worst nightmare."

Gordon Cole KC, defending, said Jones had repeatedly expressed remorse for the attacks and had entered guilty pleas.

"It was drink, alcohol and drugs that seem to be behind this," he told the court.

Sentencing Jones, Mr Justice Martin Griffiths said the body-worn camera footage shown in court was "very distressing" and "some of the worst I have seen".

"It is difficult in words to convey the horror and the depravity of what you did to them that night," said the judge.

"It is a miracle that no-one died.

"You certainly did everything you could to kill the mother and her young son, as well as attacking one daughter and threatening the other."

Mr Justice Griffiths said Jones remained a "highly dangerous and untrustworthy person" and the seriousness of the offences meant a sentence of life imprisonment had to be imposed.

"You are violent. You are vindictive. You lack insight," added the judge.

"Your conduct, not only in the presence of the children , but by directly targeting them, puts you far outside the ordinary constraints of human decency."

He said Jones must serve a minimum prison term of 20 years before he can be considered for release on a life-long licence.