Mother left to die by ex-lover

A jealous lover who slashed and stabbed the mother of his three children 17 times and left her to die in a field near Wolverhampton was today beginning a 14-year prison sentence.

Garage worker Kulvinder Ram even trod on and mocked Michelle Emery as he tried to kill her, quizzing her about a new relationship in what he called a "kangaroo court".

His 23-year-old victim, who thought she would die, crawled through fields and barbed wire fences to a main road to find help.

Today detectives described the 31-year-old knifeman, who smirked and smiled at his victim as she sat in the public gallery at Wolverhampton Crown Court, as "vile".

Ram, of Holloway Street, Wednesfield, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder which happened on July 13 last year.

But the court told that while in prison on remand, he had written a letter explaining he wanted to "finish off what he started".

He was under a court supervision order at the time of the attack after a previous assault on Miss Emery. The court heard yesterday how they had been in a relationship for eight years which ended in January last year.

Mr Kevin Hegaty, prosecuting, told the court that Ram became jealous of a new relationship that she had formed after their split. Ram would turn up at her house and "make a nuisance of himself", prompting her to install CCTV.

Two weeks before the attack, Ram had told his brother "she has gone too far this time - I'm going to sort her out once and for all".

Ram even said he had an alibi ready, but the brother did not take him seriously.

In July last year, he picked Miss Emery up in his Ford Probe in the early evening and was "friendly with her" as they drove around the city before going on to Wood Hayes Road, Westcroft, South Staffordshire.

He pulled up in a layby and asked Miss Emery if she wanted her present.

The pair went to the back of the car and Ram opened the boot to reveal his nephew, who was hiding in there.

Mr Hegaty said: "Ram then punched her in the mouth with such force that she was knocked to the ground. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her towards the fields. The nephew got into the car and drove it away.

"Ram punched her again in the face and threw her back down and told her to stay. He knelt by her. She was terrified at this stage and started to beg for her life. She tried to tell him about the children.

"He said that the children would be with him as he was the next of kin.

"He told her he was having a kangaroo court and said that if he didn't like what she said, he would kill her. She got up and tried to run away back to the road, but he got hold of her and pulled her back." Miss Emery recalled bleeding and when Ram asked if she wanted an ambulance, she said 'yes'.

But he mocked her and said he would not call one and stabbed her, putting his foot into her stomach to accelerate the bleeding.

Mr Hegaty said: "She then realised she was going to die. She was in such immense pain that she was almost at the point when that's what she wanted.

"She blacked out and whether he continued to stab her after that is not clear.

"He covered up the body with a children's paddling pool, believing she was dead or dying.

"She regained consciousness and she lay they quietly until she was sure she was alone.

"She pulled off the cover and made her way through a barbed wire fence. She pulled herself through another barbed wire fence and to Old Hampton Lane.

"She came to a house and she rang the buzzer, but there was no response as the householders were asleep. She carried on down Old Hampton Lane and she saw Ram's car coming towards her.

"She thought he was going to run her over. It's not clear if he had gone back to the scene, but he had a spade in the boot of his car.

"At this stage she said to Ram: 'They know, the police are coming'.

"He then reversed away from her and she made her way to the A460 Cannock Road where a passing motorist Roger Hazeldine took her straight to Cannock Hospital, she arrived at 2.45am. She was transferred to University Hospital of North Staffordshire and arrived just after 4am."

Mr Hegaty revealed that Miss Emery was left with a punctured lung as well as injuries to her shoulder, chest, liver, bowel, thigh, arms and hands, where she had apparently tried to get hold of the knife.

He said: "The injuries are described as all potentially life threatening. If there had been just a few millimetres difference, it could have severed a major blood vessel. She could have bled to death by having so many stab wounds."

Ram was arrested a short time later, but while he was remanded in Birmingham's Winson Green prison he wrote a letter to a relative explaining that he wanted to "finish off what he started", the court heard.

Mr Balbir Singh, defending, said: "He wants to say to Michelle that he's very sorry for what he did. He's expressed his remorse in the best way possible by ensuring that she doesn't have to give evidence."

Jailing Ram, Judge John Warner said Ram had "pre-planned" the murder bid and had lulled Miss Emery into a false sense of security.

He said: "She still bears the physical and mental scars from that dreadful attack."

Charges were dropped against the nephew who was not named in court.

By Crime Correspondent Mike Woods