Man who stabbed ex in 'rage of anger' as she walked her dog jailed for 24 years

A man who repeatedly stabbed his ex-partner in a park then ran away, launching a four-day manhunt, has been jailed for 24 years.

Joanne Sidaway, 49, screamed as she was attacked in the chest by James McKenna, 58, in the bushes of Carmarthen Park in January.

McKenna previously pleaded guilty to wounding with intent, but found guilty of attempted murder in July.

On Friday, Judge Paul Thomas KC said the attack was "wholly calculated", and that McKenna had left his ex-partner to die in the bushes.

Swansea Crown Court heard he will spend two thirds of his sentence in prison, before being released on licence.

After hiding in a woodland near Carmarthen for three days without food or water, McKenna was arrested at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, as he awaited medical treatment for suspected frostbite.

McKenna had waited for Sidaway to enter the park on 29 January with her dog, before crouching down in the bushes, ready to launch his attack.

A jury at Swansea Crown Court heard McKenna was "angry" after their relationship ended a few months earlier, and it was "luck" that she did not die, with her winter coat helping to save her.

During the trial, he told the jury he had put the newest, sharpest knife from his kitchen in his bag that morning, with the intention of using it to hurt Sidaway.

"I felt she was reluctant to re-engage with me, and not even say hello," he said.

As she approached, he stabbed her multiple times, in what he agreed was "a rage of anger".

"I was aiming for her shoulder area and the upper body. I didn't want to kill her."

He said the attack was interrupted after Sidaway told him to stop and screamed, and a neighbour shouted.

Neighbour Susan Edwards told the court during the trial in July she heard "high-pitched screaming" and the "bushes shaking" before a man ran away.