CROSSBOW RAMPAGE
A PREGNANT mum cried "we've got children" as a crossbow killer murdered her partner before shooting her in the head.
Laura Sugden, then 27, was five months pregnant when "sneering" Anthony Lawrence tried to force the crossbow bolt into her neck.
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The deranged neighbour broke into Laura's semi-detached house in Southburn, near Driffield, East Yorks,, through a shared loft and then lay in wait for her and boyfriend Shane Gilmer.
He then ambushed them as they returned home from a date at an Italian restaurant while Laura's first daughter was away for the night.
Laura, now 30, has since given birth to two-year-old Ella, who has "healed something" in her heart.
She told : “I don’t think I’ll ever get over what happened but I have to be strong for Ella.
“I didn’t know how I was going to manage on my own but the minute Ella was born something in my heart healed.
“She just looks exactly like her dad – it’s sometimes painful to look at her.
“I’ve told her Daddy is a star and she’ll ask, ‘My daddy loved me didn’t he?’
“Every milestone reminds me that Shane isn’t here, her first step, her first birthday and that will go on for ever.”
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Laura is now campaigning for tighter regulations around crossbows, which can easily be bought online for around £150.
And her calls are backed by Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.
Describing the full terror of that night in January 2018, Laura told how she found Lawrence, 55, hiding in her then three-year-old daughter Isabelle's bedroom, who was away.
The former jailbird had previously threatened council housing officer Shane, 30, with an axe after the couple protested about his loud music.
And Lawrence was being evicted after they had complained to the landlord about cannabis fumes and suspected plant growing.
The couple had just got home after a Friday night at Gino D’Acampo’s restaurant in Hull when Laura saw a dark stain on the carpet under the loft hatch.
She carefully pushed open the bedroom door to find Lawrence wearing a head torch in the dark room and pointing the crossbow at her.
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Horrified, she asked what he was doing in the house before shouting to Shane downstairs: “Don’t come up, he’s got a gun.”
Laura stepped back into her hallway and Lawrence pushed her into the main bedroom, shoving her on the bed before running back into the hall as Shane climbed the stairs.
Laura phoned 999 and hid her mobile in her denim pregnancy dress. She said: “I was terrified. It was surreal. I kept thinking this isn’t happening.
“Then I heard Shane saying, ‘What the f*** is that?’. The next thing I heard him moaning.”
Moments later Lawrence dragged Shane into the room on his knees.
A crossbow bolt had gone through his right forearm and into his abdomen, damaging his liver and a kidney before embedding in his spine.
Laura asked: “Is that going to kill him?”
She then recalled Lawrence’s smirking reply: “Yes, and now I’m going to kill you too”.
'WE'VE GOT CHILDREN'
Laura said: “That smirk was the only emotion he showed the whole time.”
Lawrence told her the attack was in revenge for getting him evicted – something he only knew by listening to them through the wall with a special device.
Begging for her life, she told Lawrence she was pregnant and cried: “We’ve got children.”
But he simply stared at her, moved his hand in a talking motion and said “Blah, blah, f****** blah” before shooting her in the head.
Laura said: “Blood was gushing down my face and I felt dizzy. I heard Shane scream and I looked over at him. He was pale and crying.”
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a from 10am - 4pm Monday - Friday and 10am - 12pm on Saturday and Sunday.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
But she found the strength to stand up and pull the bolt from her head as her neighbour left the room.
She went over to Shane and squeezed his hand. As Lawrence returned holding another crossbow bolt, she threw herself at him.
He straddled her on the floor and pushed the point into her neck.
Doctors later told her the wound was so deep they could see her voice box.
The 5ft 2in mum eventually managed to shove Lawrence off her and pin him down, calling for help from Shane.
But Shane cried “I can’t” and Laura saw tears streaming down his face.
Pushing Laura off, Lawrence ran from the room.
Shane told her to get help, saying: “If you don’t go and keep you and the baby safe I’ll never forgive you.”
“He was crying,” Laura said.
“He was gasping for breath. He looked at me, really looked at me, like the look someone gives you when they are going away for a long time and then told me, ‘Be strong, I love you’.”
Those were the last words Shane said to Laura.
Shaking with fear, Laura ran downstairs before running 200 yards to a neighbour's house.
Meanwhile, Shane managed to make it downstairs and call 999.
An inquest in Hull last week into his death heard him tell the operator: “I love my children... Oh my God I really, really wanted this baby, I really wanted it. I feel like I’m fading. I’ve lost so much blood.”
Lawrence fled and was found dead from an overdose of painkillers in a camper van two days later on the A170 near East Layton, North Yorks.
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Laura says she is relieved he is dead, adding: “I only wish I had killed him myself.”
In Britain, no licence or registration is needed to own a crossbow.
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Mr Thomas-Symonds has vowed to do “everything possible” to help Laura bring about change to regulate ownership.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans (free) on 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
‘Crossbow killer’ suspect Anthony Lawrence’s body discovered by cops inside vehicle in rural North Yorkshire