London - Strutting along a hospital corridor, naked from the waist up, a jealous husband heads for the intensive care ward where his wife works.
Moments after this image was captured on CCTV, drug addict Royston Jones launched a savage attack on nurse Claire Jones in front of seven critically-ill patients she was treating.
The jobless man, convinced she was having an affair, repeatedly shouted “die” as he tried to strangle her. He also claimed he was carrying a grenade.
Her colleagues heroically managed to stop the attack, though the nurse was left unconscious. One of them hit Jones, 39, with a chair while a consultant anaesthetist was kneed in the face in the fight to rescue the nurse.
Prosecutor Michael Jones told Newport Crown Court: “He was a jealous, possessive and aggressive man who was convinced his estranged wife was in another relationship.”
Jones arrived at Nevill Hall hospital in Abergavenny, South Wales, where he knocked his wife to the floor and was lying on top of her. Michael Jones said: “He had his hands around her throat and there’s no doubt he was trying to kill her. Were it not for the heroic intervention of staff at that hospital, he would undoubtedly have succeeded.”
Claire Jones was dragged into another room by staff but her husband came after her and put her a headlock. She then blacked out. The mother of three, who had separated from Royston Jones, said: “He was like a man possessed. All he said to me was ‘You’ve done it now’. And I said: ‘What have I done?’”
She was taken to the A&E unit where she was treated for a swollen neck and throat, elbow and back injuries. She later told police that she was not in a relationship when she was attacked.
Hospital porters managed to restrain Royston Jones before police arrived to handcuff him. He told officers: “I’ll do two years for this. The court better not let me out or I’ll finish the job.”
Royston Jones, of Brynmawr, Gwent, had a history of drug abuse - and had taken drugs that day. He was convicted of attempted murder and remanded. He will be sentenced on February 20.
Daily Mail