A man armed with two hatchets ran into his teenage neighbour’s home and attacked him with both axes, causing serious head and body injuries.
The screams of the named victim could be heard on CCTV footage of the horrific, apparently motiveless attack as the intruder, 38-year-old Graham Moore, burst into the man’s home in Yeomans Court, Kirkbymoorside, “like a maniac”.
Prosecutor Dan Cordey said that the victim, 19, had driven home just before 9am on 26 April. He got out of his car, went inside his house and heard a “noise” coming from his back garden.
He then saw Moore charging into his home, then running into the living room carrying an axe in each hand.
Moore swung both hatches at him and struck him on the back of the head with one blow. The victim was then struck on the arm by another axe blow as he tried to protect himself. Terrified and “in shock”, he ran upstairs and locked himself inside his bathroom.
“He was terrified he was going to be killed and used towels to stem the bleeding,” said Mr Cordey.
But Moore hadn’t finished yet and followed him upstairs to the bathroom. He knocked at the door as the victim held it shut.
Chillingly, Moore didn’t utter a word but was “just grunting”, added Mr Cordey.
“(The victim) shouted for help through the bathroom window.”
A female neighbour heard his shouts and saw the victim “hanging out of the window” and bleeding.
She dialled 999 and walked over to the house, where she saw Moore just “standing there” outside the property.
Arrested at Monks Cross
The victim remained in the bathroom until the emergency services arrived about ten minutes later, by which time Moore had already left in his car and had driven to York.
He was arrested at a few hours later near Monks Cross shopping centre and was said to be “calm and compliant” with police.
“He gave his name and told them there were two axes in the car,” said Mr Cordey.
Officers found the hatchets in the front footwell of the vehicle.
The victim was taken to York Hospital by ambulance where his breathing was “abnormally fast”.
He had three stitches to the wound to the back of his head and had seven stitches applied to the wounds to his forearm. He also suffered a 25cm, V-shaped cut to his back and couldn’t move three of his fingers.
Moore, of Yeomans Court, refused to make any comment during police interviews.
He was charged with wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon in public. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence today (Thursday).
In a statement read out by the prosecution, the victim said he no longer felt safe in his home and now felt “incredibly anxious”.
Mr Cordey said that Moore and the victim were known to each other but only remotely.
“(The victim) knew the defendant only as ‘Graham’ for about 10 months,” he added.
“There was hardly any interaction between them and no pre-existing issues.”
The court heard that Moore had no previous convictions but had psychiatric issues. There was still no known motive for the attack.
Judge Simon Hickey jailed Moore for four years and made a 15-year restraining order to keep him away from the victim.
Police staff investigator Paul Thompson, of Scarborough and Ryedale CID, said: “This was an horrendous incident which left the normally quiet market town and civil parish of Kirkbymoorside shaken.”
He said it was an incident which “in my view could so easily have resulted in fatal wounds”.
“Given Moore’s refusal to comment in interview, we can only speculate as to the reason why a seemingly quiet and law-abiding 38-year-old man, with no previous convictions, would suddenly leave his house at 8.30am on a Saturday, armed with two axes, forcing his way into his neighbour’s house and commit such a vicious attack,” said Mr Thompson.
He added: “It was an incident in which the victim thought he was going to die that terrifying morning.
“The victim has been deeply traumatised by this random attack in his home. Fortunately, incidents of this severity do not happen too often in North Yorkshire.”
