Teacher stabbed woman 15 times after she rejected him

The 29-year-old man has appeared in Bristol Crown Court.

29-year-old Matthew Jones has appeared in Bristol Crown Court after admitting he repeatedly stabbed fellow teacher Emma Kirk.

The stabbing inflicted life-changing injuries to the 25-year-old's head, neck and body.

The attack occurred in Bath last February when Ms Kirk returned gifts Mr Jones had bought her .

Bristol Crown Court heard that she told him she did not want see him again.

The attack, which was labelled 'brutal and frenzied', only ended when five men dragged Jones away from his victim.

Jurors heard that even after this, he still tried to grab and strangle Ms Kirk.

Sam Jones of the prosecution told the court: "Both of her lungs were punctured. She tried to fight back and she suffered multiple wounds to her hands as she grabbed at the blade."

He shared that witnesses described the attacker as a 'man possessed'.

Jones was found not guilty of attempted murder and having an article with a blade or point in a public place, however, admitted causing Ms Kirk grievous bodily harm.

He claimed that the knife was brought to the scene by Ms Kirk, saying it took it from her when they began to struggle.

Michael Haynes of the defence said Jones had shown the 'appropriate level of remorse that one would expect'.

He added that he 'is all too conscious of what happened, and it shouldn't have happened'.

The court was shown footage of Ms Kirk saying: "I am going to die", as well as footage of Jones telling the officers who arrested him that he was 'a monster' who didn't 'deserve' respect.

Jurors were told that Ms Kirk and Mr Jones met at university and were good friends before becoming intimate on a couple of occasions.

However, when Ms Kirk made it clear she did not want a relationship with Mr Jones, he developed an unhealthy obsession with her.

The prosecution state: "He could not take her 'no' to him as an answer, so he decided that if she did not want to be with him, she wouldn't be with anyone else."

In her victim impact statement, Ms Kirk said she was "terrified for mine and my family's safety" after waking up from a week-long coma.

Furthermore, she revealed that she had developed PTSD and depression following the incident and has been unable to work for a year.