Former Countdown champion John Cowen, who stabbed a rival in the arm, will be detained in hospital for an ‘indefinite duration’, a judge has ruled
A former Countdown champion who stabbed a rival at a fan convention will be detained in a hospital for treatment, a judge has ruled.
John Cowen, 31, entered the convention venue with a knife in his hand and walked up to fellow Countdown champion Thomas Carey before stabbing him in the upper arm in a “terrifying incident”, a sentence hearing at Preston Crown Court was told on Wednesday.
The incident happened on September 14, 2024, at a gathering of the Focal Countdown Group, where former contestants on the Channel 4 TV quiz show and fans meet for unofficial tournaments. Judge Guy Mathieson said Cowen entered the venue at the Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool, Lancashire, and “went straight for Mr Carey”.
“You were in possession of two kitchen knives and already held one of them in your hand – clearly to be used as a weapon,” Judge Mathieson said. “This was a terrifying incident of deliberate violence with a knife which could have caused far more serious injury and possible lethality.”
Cowen was arrested at the scene and later charged with a wounding offence and two counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
But Judge Mathieson ruled earlier this year that the defendant was unfit to stand trial because of mental illness.
A fact-finding hearing took place, after which a jury found that Cowen, from Morecambe, had committed the act of wounding as charged.
Judge Mathieson said Cowen never offered an explanation for his actions, although the court previously heard he had expressed discontent over the use of an app by some of those at the conventions.
“The one matter that was tentatively put to Mr Carey was that there had been some ongoing disagreement between you, Mr Cowen, and others on the use of an app to play or help with playing Countdown,” Judge Mathieson told the hearing on Wednesday. “Mr Carey was at a complete loss as to why he had been singled out for this attack.”
The judge ordered that Cowen, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, be detained in hospital for an “indefinite duration” under Section 37/41 of the Mental Health Act.
Cowen, who appeared via videolink from the Guild Lodge psychiatric hospital in Preston, where he is undergoing medical treatment, did not react to the decision.
“Your attitude to that treatment remains hostile and so any potential treatment and monitoring in the community would not be effective as you would not engage,” Judge Mathieson said. “I am satisfied that you, Mr Cowen, are suffering from a mental disorder of such a nature that it is appropriate for you to be detained in hospital for medical treatment.”
Cowen will also be subject to a restriction order, meaning his discharge from hospital would require the consent of the secretary of state for justice.
Cowen appeared on Countdown in 2017, when he scored the third highest total of the series in which he was a contestant, including spotting the nine-letter word spreading. He competed in a further 11 episodes, winning eight consecutive contests, before he was finally defeated.
