Alexander Horton, 34, was a patient at Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend who attacked a nurse with a sharpened pen in an unprovoked incident, leaving her with two scars
A mental health nurse working at a psychiatric care unit was stabbed by a patient suffering from schizophrenia. The nurse has since spoken of feeling fearful at work and being left with two scars from the attack.
Alexander Horton, 34, was receiving treatment at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend and had been admitted just three days prior when he launched an unprovoked attack on his victim at approximately 11.55pm on October 30, 2024.
Cardiff Crown Court heard on Thursday that the nurse was conducting her routine nightly checks when the defendant emerged from his bedroom and calmly requested assistance. However, as she approached Horton, the nurse was put in a headlock before he began striking her face with a sharpened pen.
The nurse reported feeling the pen puncture her left eyebrow and became aware her face was covered in blood. The attack continued for approximately eight seconds until staff members intervened to restrain the defendant, and the nurse was rushed to A&E, reports Wales Online.
She sustained two lacerations to her left eyebrow and one to the side of her left eyebrow. A pen was subsequently recovered with its tube broken and saturated at the tip.
After being arrested, Horton requested valium and stated he felt as if the “world was coming to an end” and “trapped”. He admitted he had missed his medication that day and something within him “snapped”, though he subsequently felt “horrible” and expressed remorse for his actions.
Horton, from Llanarth Road in Llanarth, Monmouthshire, subsequently admitted to intentional strangulation and a section 18 wounding offence. The court was told he had a clean criminal record.
A victim personal statement shared in court revealed the nurse’s ordeal: “I felt fear each time I entered the ward, not knowing whether he was going to attack me again or if he had another assault planned against me.
“Since the attack I am even more so acutely aware of my surroundings, especially in the presence of male patients in case I could be assaulted in some way again. It has left me with two scars, one to my eyebrow and another to my temple. The cuts are healing but I’m conscious the scars are still there.
“People will ask me about the scars and I have to explain what happened and relive the incident and become upset. The incident has become part of my life I am struggling to forget about. I’m lucky the pen didn’t puncture my eyeball. My sight did come back but it left me feeling shaken up.”
Defence lawyers told the court that Horton had behaved appropriately whilst receiving psychiatric treatment, with no indication before the attack that he had violent tendencies. Passing sentence, Judge Paul Hobson stated: “(The victim) was someone who was simply doing her job, trying to care for and help you. What you did and the injury you caused has had a profound effect upon her.”
Horton was placed under a hospital order pursuant to section 37 of the Mental Health Act.
