Man Jailed For Life For Hammer Attack on Children
15 February 2018, 14:32 | Updated: 15 February 2018, 14:33
A man, who almost killed four children, assaulting them with a hammer before deliberately driving his car into a stonewall in Barnsley has today been jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years.
Owen Scott was arrested after his car, with the four children inside, hit the wall of The Travellers pub at Oxpring, near Penistone, South Yorkshire, in August last year.
His daughter, will be wheelchair-dependant for the rest of her life, partially paralysed and remains in hospital, having lost a large section of her skull in the attack, prosecutor Simon Kealey QC said.
The court heard how Scott's other children - aged 21 months and nine months - and his step-daughter who's eight, also suffered severe injuries from which they are still recovering.
The judge, Mrs Justice O'Farrell, told Scott:
'You will have to live for the rest of your life knowing that you have damaged, in some cases irrecoverably, the health, both physically and psychologically, of your children.'
DCI Stopford from South Yorkshire Police said:
'This has been without doubt, one of the most harrowing cases I’ve worked on, the ordeal those young children were subjected to was utterly horrendous and I’m pleased that Scott has today been jailed for a significant length of time.
'Three of the four children are now recovering at home with their family. One of the children, a 7-year-old girl, is still receiving treatment in hospital today but we are hopeful she will soon be able to be at home with her family and her siblings.
'I’d like to praise and thank the efforts of everyone who attended the scene that day and who has worked on the case. In particular, I’d also like to thank the medical staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and staff at Leeds General Infirmary for the care and treatment they provided and who were very helpful with providing early evidence to us.'
