Man pleads guilty to attempted murder

An ‘unpredictable’ man who stabbed two people in Hull last year pleaded guilty to attempted murder and grievous bodily harm at Hull Crown Court yesterday (Monday, 12 May).

Philip Gonsalves, 48-years-old, of New Bridge Road in Hull was charged with two counts of attempted murder following his arrest in January.

On Saturday, 25 January, we received two separate reports at around 2am and 3am that a man had been found with stab wounds on Buckingham Street, and a woman had been found with stab wounds on Victor Street in Hull.

Emergency services attended and a 35-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious injuries to his head, stomach, and sternum, and the 33-year-old woman was taken to hospital for treatment to life threatening injuries to her neck.

Detective Sergeant Johanna Bielby from our Major Crime Team said: “Whilst in hospital with life threatening injuries, both the man and woman declared to officers that the person responsible for attacking them was Philip Gonsalves.

“Our enquiries swiftly commenced to locate Gonsalves and understand the circumstances surrounding the incident including extensively reviewing CCTV footage in and around the area, conducting house-to-house enquiries, carrying out analysis of phone data and undertaking various forensic examinations of the multiple scenes following his frenzied attack.

“From CCTV footage, the man and woman were seen to be walking along Victor Street and were later joined by Gonsalves at around 1.44am. All three of them are seen to walk onto Barnsley Street and a vehicle pulls up alongside them where Gonsalves is then seen to walk up to the vehicle alone and speak to the occupants inside.

“Without any provocation or warning, Gonsalves then walks back to the man and woman, grabbing the woman’s head and slamming it into a fence before doing the same to the man and then proceeding to hit him violently to the back of his head and stomach.

“Just six minutes later, the man is seen to run from Barnsley Street along Holderness Road clutching his stomach and covered in blood, whilst Gonsalves calmly walks onto Holderness Road. Within two minutes, the man is on the floor in a pool of his own blood being given CPR by two members of the public until police and ambulance arrive on scene.

“In other footage, the woman is seen to exit a property on Victor Street whilst being assisted by a member of the public after Gonsalves laid in wait in the dark to attack her as she left the address. She had sustained three significant wounds to her neck that were so serious, she had to be placed into an induced coma following surgery.

“Crime Scene Investigators attended the scene and obtained swabs of the trails of blood found on Barnsley, Buckingham, and Rosmead Street which linked the victims to the scene.

“DNA of both victims was also forensically recovered from the jacket that Gonsalves was wearing at the time of the attack.”

Following his appearance yesterday, Gonsalves was remanded into custody to appear back at Hull Crown Court on Wednesday, 9 July for sentencing.

Detective Sergeant Johanna Bielby added: “This was an unnecessary attack on two defenceless people and the level of injuries that they sustained were brutal, leaving the woman fighting for her life for three weeks and still receiving care for her injuries even today. They are both lucky to be alive.

“Gonsalves is an unpredictable individual who turned on both victims in a matter of seconds and then left them for dead in the street as he attempted to flee the scene to evade arrest.

“I am pleased that the evidence stacked against him meant Gonsalves decided to plead guilty to attempting to murder the woman and injuring the man causing grievous bodily harm.

“Violent crime, in any form, will not be tolerated in our communities, and we are committed to investigating and holding those to account for their actions.”

If you have any concerns about violent crime in your area, you are urged to contact us on our non-emergency number 101, speak to our officers when you see them out and about, or always call 999 in an emergency.

You can also report anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.