-
- Beatle George Harrison believed that he was about to
die when he was repeatedly stabbed and beaten by an intruder who thought
he was on "a mission from God", a court was told
yesterday.
-
- Despite severe injuries, Harrison, 57, fought to stop
his
attacker killing his wife, Olivia, at Friar Park, their 120-room Victorian
home near Henley-on-Thames, Oxon. Harrison said in a written statement
read to Oxford Crown Court: "I have no doubt that this person
intended
to kill myself and my wife. I truly believed I was
dying."
-
- Harrison said he shouted "Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna"
in a vain attempt to distract his assailant, Michael Abram, 34. Mrs
Harrison,
51, saved her husband's life by beating off Abram with a
poker and a heavy
lamp.
-
- The couple were rescued by police who burst into the
house and overpowered Abram in the early hours of Dec 30 last year. He
denies two counts of attempted murder by reason of insanity.
-
- The jury heard that
Abram, broke in by uprooting a statue
of George and the Dragon and
hurling it through a window of the house,
which Harrison bought in 1971
for £200,000 and is now estimated to
be worth £10
million.
-
- Olivia Harrison awoke first, thinking a chandelier had
crashed
to the floor downstairs before realising that there was an intruder.
Harrison put a zip-up jacket over his pyjamas and ran to the first floor
gallery. From the top of the stairs, he spotted a man's figure illuminated
in the kitchen area.
-
- Harrison said: "He stopped and looked towards me.
He started shouting and screaming. He was hysterical and frightening. He
said words to the effect of 'You get down here, you know what it is'. I
could see a knife in one hand and the spear from part of the statue in
the other.
-
- "He rushed towards me. I attempted to get into a
room, but
couldn't release the key from the door. I made the split-second
decision to tackle this man as I had it in mind that once he passed me,
both my wife and mother-in-law would be vulnerable.
-
- "Armed only with the
element of surprise, I ran
at him. My first thought was to grab the
knife and knock him off balance.
He thrust the knife at me. I was
fending off the blows with my hands and
arms. He was stabbing down
towards my upper body.
-
- "I was aware of my wife approaching and striking
him about the head with a brass poker. It appeared to have little effect.
He stood up and chased my wife. I feared greatly for her safety and hauled
myself up to tackle him. I placed my hands around the blade.
-
- "He again got
the better of me and got on top of
me. I felt exhausted and could feel
the strength draining from me. My arms
dropped to my sides and I
vividly remember a deliberate thrust of the knife
down into my
chest.
-
- "I could feel blood entering my lungs. I could feel
my
chest deflate. I felt blood in my mouth and air exhale from my chest.
I
believed I had been fatally stabbed. My wife struck the man with the
vase and he slumped down. I encouraged my wife to keep on hitting
him."
-
- Harrison, who was on the floor as police arrived, said
he was
left with serious wounds and breathing difficulties.
-
- MainPage
http://www.rense.com
-
-
-
-
- This
Site Served by TheHostPros
|