Husband relives horror of moment petite blonde wife plunged steak knife into his chest after years of domestic abuse
May 14, 2012
A man who was subjected to terrifying violence at the hands of his petite wife has described the moment she plunged a steak knife into his heart.
Kieron Bell, 36, only found the courage to leave his wife Sarah after she stabbed him and left him to die.
Even after she was jailed Kieron found it hard to admit he had been a victim of domestic violence at the hands of his wife.
But he hopes telling his story will encourage more men to come forward.
He said: ‘There is a misconception that men who are victims are weak but that couldn’t be more wrong.’
Kieron, of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, was a strapping nightclub bouncer when he became a victim of domestic violence.
Though the married father of one had no problem throwing drunks out of nightclubs night after night, in his own home he was the victim of a series of brutal attacks – at the hands of his pretty young wife.
Petite Sarah Bell, then 24, had attacked her husband regularly since they married in June 2006.
But her reign of violence ended when she stabbed Kieron through the heart with a steak knife at their flat and the police were called.
Kieron nearly died, but lying Sarah tried to persuade police that Kieron had fallen on the knife.
After life saving heart surgery which has left him with a ten inch scar on his chest, Kieron has made a slow recovery, but now wants to warn other men not to tolerate violence in a relationship.
‘I stayed because I loved her and because we had a child but it nearly cost me my life. I’m lucky to be alive and one day I will have to tell my son that his mother almost killed me.’
‘Domestic violence against men is a big problem. Because women are seen as the vulnerable ones, people don’t understand how men can allow themselves to be victims.’
‘I’m speaking out because when I finally found the courage to tell Norfolk Police what had happened they were brilliant, they didn’t judge me and they took me seriously so I want other men to know they can report attacks.
‘If it can happen to me it can happen to anyone.’
But following their marriage at Great Yarmouth registry office, Sarah started to show signs of a ferocious temper. ‘She would flare up at the smallest thing. I put it down to her pregnancy hormones to start with.’
But as Sarah’s bump grew she started to become violent. ‘If we were bickering she would suddenly lash out. She would kick me or punch me. Sometimes she slapped me in front of people.
‘I would never in a million years hit a woman because my mother always told me not to so I would go out for a walk to calm down.’
‘When I come back she would say sorry and promise not to do it again.’
‘I was confused and to start with never even considered what was happening as domestic violence because you just don’t think it happens to blokes.’
But Sarah’s violence got worse and on one occasion she hit her husband with a glass bottle.
Kieron did call police to the flat, but was scared they would laugh if he told them he was being abused by his wife.
Kieron met Sarah when he was working the door of a Great Yarmouth nightclub.
At 5ft 10ins tall and with a stocky build, Kieron had a reputation as a gentle giant.
Sarah was a tiny size eight blonde and just and 5ft 2ins tall. After a whirlwind romance they discovered Sarah was expecting and decided to marry.
‘We were really happy and I thought she was a great girl. I thought we’d be the perfect family.’
He hoped her behaviour would improve when their baby was born.
Their son was born in February 2007 and Sarah’s temper worsened. ‘Arguments normally started over the flat, If I hadn’t done enough jobs or it wasn’t tidy enough. One time in a row she threatened to stab me but I never thought she ever would.’
Ashamed to admit what was happening, he kept the violence a secret from friends and family. The police were called several more times but Kieron was always too ashamed to take it any further.
‘I didn’t expect them to believe me, I mean who’s going to think a big former doorman can be battered by a tiny little woman. People wouldn’t take it seriously.’
Social services had become concerned about Sarah’s temper and her son was moved into the care of Keiron’s aunt, but nobody suspected that Kieron too was in danger.
But on the 22 April 2009 at 1.45am Sarah came home later and started an argument with Kieron after accusing him of not doing enough around the house.
‘It was typical of her to start an argument about the house, but no matter how much I did she would never be happy.’
Moments later she ran at him with a steak knife from their kitchen, plunging it into his chest and fleeing as Kieron slumped dying on the floor in a pool of blood.
He called 999 and an ambulance arrived as Sarah returned and in front of medics urged her husband to tell them it was ‘nobody’s fault.’ ‘Tell them honey,’ she pleaded as he slipped into unconsciousness.
They rushed him to hospital for heart surgery. Sarah tried to persuade police that Kieron fell on the knife, but Kieron later admitted the truth, that he was a victim of domestic violence.
Sarah was arrested while he underwent life saving open heart surgery and spent a week in hospital.
‘They said I was lucky to be alive. The knife had missed my heart by a millimetre and I was in intensive care for five days.’
‘When I finally admitted how long it had been going on I was relieved it was out in the open and surprised at how good Norfolk Police were. Nobody treated it as a joke in fact they told me more was being done to help men in my situation.
‘They gave me a lot of support in the run up to the case. Now I know there is no shame in what happened to me.
Kieron moved in with his aunt and son to recover. ‘He came and gave me a really big cuddle. I felt lucky to be alive.
‘I couldn’t even pick my boy up to start with, that’s when it really struck me what she’d done. She could have killed me, but she didn’t think twice about taking away our son’s dad.
‘Admitting to people what had been going on was hard but having the police take it so seriously helped.
Sarah pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and was sentenced to four a half years at Norwich Crown Court. She is due for release this month.
Kieron has now married again but says the domestic violence he suffered will always affect him. ‘ I found it very hard to trust because of what happened.’
Kieron decided to speak out in the hope of encouraging more men to come forward.
After the case Det Insp Paul Garrard from Norfolk Police’s domestic violence unit said that nobody regardless of gender needs to tolerate domestic abuse.
‘Domestic abuse presents itself in many ways, it’s about power and control. We are committed not only to investigation reports of domestic violence but also to encouraging victims, regardless of gender, to come forward to and report such matters.
‘Policing domestic violence has come a long way over the years.’
Source: Daily Mail
