Bognor man who stabbed woman in supermarket is jailed for life

Paranoid schizophrenic Samuel Reid-Wentworth (22) attacked Lucy Yates on September 16 last year whilst she was shopping in the Somerfield store in Littlehampton.

She was stabbed more than 20 times, resulting in serious wounds to her neck, face and abdomen.

Reid-Wentworth had gone missing the previous weekend from his home address in of Longford Road. His mother reported this to police on Sunday September 14 and a missing person enquiry was then instigated.

His exact movements over the next few days are not known although he was seen in a dishevelled state in Chichester by an old school teacher on Sunday September 14.

Two days later, Reid-Wentwoth got on a coastal service bus at Portsmouth Harbour.

He attempted to leave the bus at Bognor but then appeared to change his mind and remained on-board until it stopped outside the Somerfield store at Littlehampton.

Lucy can be seen on CCTV walking past the bus; a few moments later Reid-Wentworth gets off and appears to follow her into the store, entering just a few seconds later. Within minutes he attacks her at the rear of the store.

He was distracted by shoppers and store staff and instructed to throw the knife down, which he did, before being detained until the police arrived.

Lucy suffered very serious injuries and nearly died as a result of the attack.

Following his arrest, Reid-Wentworth informed police that he had hidden a samurai sword opposite the Tesco store in Bognor. This was recovered on the evening of September 16.

On Thursday September 18, a clinical psychologist employed by the Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust received a letter from Reid-Wentworth.

The disturbing content described in detail how he wished to attack a young woman in a supermarket in Bognor using a samurai sword.

Detective Inspector Jeff Riley, from Sussex Police Major Crime Branch, said: "This was a truly horrific incident and Reid-Wentworth is clearly a very ill and dangerous young man.

"Fortunately Lucy survived this terrible attack and is now on the road to recovery.

"This process will clearly take a long time but she has a strong and loving family and is looking to the future with her partner. Without the brave intervention of the customers and staff at Somerfield this could have ended far more tragically."

Sussex Police is planning to reward the bravery of those involved in incident in a ceremony following this sentencing.

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