Church man guilty of attempted murder and sexual assault

Pawel Skros, 40, of Warwick Street, Church, showed no emotion in the dock as the jury delivered their verdicts at Preston Crown Court following an eight-day trial.

The jury reached unanimous verdicts following five hours and 42 minutes of deliberations.

Skros, who is originally from Poland but moved to the UK over 10 years ago, stabbed the victim five times during an altercation at a house.

One of the wounds entered her chest cavity, almost reaching her heart.

Preston Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss)

She lay on the floor believing she was going to die, and Skros, who is an alcoholic and was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the offending, told her he was going to kill her and then himself.

Skros kissed the woman while she was on the floor and touched her in intimate areas, which amounted to the sexual assault offence.

The woman was eventually able to leave the property when Skros was distracted by a knock at the door.

She escaped through a side door, it was heard, and ran to a nearby house, opening the front door and collapsing in the doorway.

The woman at that house and other neighbours nearby provided immediate assistance to stem the flow of blood before the emergency services arrived, the court heard.

Skros was arrested later that morning. The jury heard that while he was being booked in at the police station, he said: "I've done something, I know that, but it's because I cannot get help."

In a police interview, he denied attempting to kill or seriously harm the complainant.

He claimed she had been stabbed accidentally during a scuffle, and said she had made up the sexual assault allegation.

Skros will be sentenced before Judge Philip Parry at the same court on October 1.