A man who carried out an unprovoked stabbing at Flamingo Land has been jailed for four and a half years.
Joshua Donnelly, 22, of Duxford Road in Middlesbrough, admitted Section 18 wounding with intent and was sentenced at York Crown Court on Friday (12th June).
The attack happened at Flamingo Land Resort near Pickering shortly after 1am on 18th September last year.
Donnelly stabbed a 38-year-old holidaymaker from the Scottish Borders three times in the abdomen with a four-inch kitchen knife following a domestic dispute involving his partner.
The victim, who had tried to calm the situation, suffered a punctured colon and required emergency surgery.
Donnelly fled the scene but was arrested later that day after officers stopped a vehicle he was travelling in near the Cleveland Police border.
Police recovered the knife after it was found discarded in bushes by a gardener at the holiday park. Forensic analysis linked it to both Donnelly and the victim, while witness accounts and CCTV footage formed part of the evidence.
Police Investigator Liberty Ashton, of Scarborough and Ryedale CID, said:
“Due to the overwhelming evidence stacked against Joshua Donnelly, he was left with very little option but to plead guilty to this terrible, vicious offence that could so easily have taken an innocent man’s life.
“Despite surviving the unprovoked knife attack, it has had a huge, long-term effect on the victim and his family. They have had to learn to live with everything that this senseless violent act has left behind.
“I really hope the outcome at court provides them with some comfort and strength to move forward with their lives.”
In a victim personal statement, the man described the attack as turning a family holiday into “a nightmare” and said the incident had caused lasting physical, mental and financial hardship for both him and his family.
He said:
“Despite no longer being on medication, the mental toll and long-term physical effects will be something I will carry with me for the foreseeable.”
Donnelly had been remanded in custody since appearing at York Magistrates’ Court on 20th September due to the seriousness of the offence and the risk he posed to the public.
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