Gerry Anketell, 37, stabbed his innocent victim after he banged down on a communal toilet in the Airbnb that left the victim with “substantial” wounds to his back, lower neck, upper arms and the back of his head
A thug tried to kill a man at an Airbnb after he was stopped from bursting in on a woman in the toilet. Gerry Anketell, 37, repeatedly stabbed his innocent victim after he tried to intervene in a dispute when the knifeman started to bang down on the toilet door while the woman used the facilities.
He was branded “potentially very volatile and wholly unpredictable” by a judge after he pleaded guilty to attempted murder and was jailed for more than a decade. He was spared a life sentence over the “vicious attack” that was “launched without warning, provocation or any need whatsoever.”
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Friday that couple Hajimohamed and Ursha Ramumathan had been staying at an Airbnb on Wavertree Road, in Edge Hill, Liverpool, that featured a number of private bedrooms as well as communal toilet and kitchen areas, on February 17 this year. When the husband worked downstairs at a business in the same building, his wife went to use the toilet at about 8:30am.
Prosecutor Henry Riding said how Anketell, who had been staying at the same accommodation, “began shouting and banging on the bathroom door aggressively,” reported Mirror affiliate the Liverpool Echo. Mr Ramumathan then returned to the shared flat and confronted Anketell, of no fixed address, after his wife alerted him via a phone call.
Anketell became “very angry and very irate” as a result. When the victim stated he would call the police, Anketell snatched his phone and put both of his hands on his throat. Vincent Anderson, who had been staying in a second floor room, came downstairs and “attempted to deescalate the situation.”
But the aggressor instead turned his attention to the 62-year-old, dragging him to a kitchen area, taking two knives from a block before repeatedly stabbing him wit the weapons. Mr and Ramumathan were able to flee the building and dial 999 before assisting Mr Anderson with his injuries, that comprised a series of “substantial” wounds to his back, lower neck, upper arms and the back of his head which required hospital treatment.
Anketell has a total of nine previous convictions for 14 offences, including entries for assault occasioning actual bodily arm in 2005 and 2006 and a suspended sentence in Italy in 2019 for breaching the peace and possession of a weapon.
“The available mitigation to present is his guilty plea,” Paul Becker, defending, told the court. “Not many people plead guilty at a plea and trial preparation hearing to attempted murder.
“At the first opportunity, the defendant has assisted the court and the victims with some peace of mind for what he has done. I would ask your honour to give him a determinate sentence.
“Hopefully, the victim will make a good recovery from the serious wounds caused. I am not instructed to advance any personal mitigation.”
Anketell will be required two thirds of his term behind bars before he becomes eligible for release on parole. Anketell was also handed and extended licence period of four years and given restraining orders banning him from contracting the complainants indefinitely.
Sentencing, Judge Simon Medland KC said: “You attempted to murder Vincent Anderson, who attempted to keep the peace in an argumentative fight in which you were involved. You have relevant previous convictions. The vast majority of your previous convictions are for offences of assault.
“I have no doubt at all on the facts of this case that you are potentially a very volatile and wholly unpredictable person. In attempting to murder Mr Anderson, you picked up substantial kitchen knives and, without warning, provocation or any need whatsoever, you launched a vicious attack on him.
“It has had a profound impact on him. He posed no threat to you whatsoever. These were gaping wounds. Each was caused by you, inflicted with the knives which you held quite deliberately.
“On the facts of this case, because of the level of violence you used and because of your previous convictions, I am quite satisfied that you are properly to be categorised as a dangerous offender.
“It is open to me to consider the imposition of a sentence of imprisonment for life. I am satisfied that this is a case that can properly be sentenced, and society can properly be protected from you, by the imposition of an extended sentence.”