Man tried to murder taxi driver during crime spree

A man who stabbed a taxi driver while he was driving before continuing his attack, inflicting more than 30 wounds in his back as he lay on the ground, has been jailed for attempted murder.

The car being driven by the victim, a man in his 30s, rolled to a stop after striking a wall outside the Co-op in Westdale Lane East, Carlton, Nottinghamshire, at about 22:30 BST on 6 May 2025.

There, the knifeman, 46-year-old Simon McHugh, continued his attack, stabbing his victim's back and head as he lay on the ground.

At Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Mark Watson sentenced McHugh to 19 years in jail for what police described as a "frenzied and brutal" attack.

At the same hearing, Paige Tomlinson, 34, from Jessops Lane, Gedling, was sentenced to 18 months in prison for her part in plotting the attempted murder and helping McHugh in his attempts to escape justice.

The court heard the day before the stabbing, McHugh, of Bakersfield, had been at his then fiancee's home in Ripley, Derbyshire, where after an argument, "paranoid" McHugh armed himself with a kitchen knife and made threats against her and two other people.

Jeremy Janes, prosecuting, said McHugh was "erratic" and told the court: "The defendant stabbed himself in the leg at one point."

He tied up his partner and one of their two young children back-to-back using a dressing gown cord and leggings and then later a roll of Sellotape, threatening to burn the house down.

In the early hours of 6 May, his partner managed to free herself and escape to a neighbour's house.

After police were called McHugh, still with a knife, left the scene and went to Nottingham, where he spent time with his friend, Tomlinson.

Tomlinson "was aware" police were after McHugh, and on the afternoon of 6 May, the pair plotted to kidnap the victim, who was Tomlinson's partner, "torture" him and take his Audi A5.

Janes told the court the motive may have been the taxi driver's "purported infidelity... or borne out of the relationship between her [Tomlinson] and McHugh".

An Uber booked by Tomlinson took McHugh - with a knife - that night to the victim's house, where he asked for a lift to his mother's home.

The pair set off, but after some time, Janes told the court McHugh said "you know you're going to die today" before stabbing him five times in the chest.

He said McHugh appeared "demonic" to his victim during the attack.

After stopping the taxi, his victim tried to fend off McHugh but sustained further injuries and ended up face down outside the vehicle.

Medical evidence showed about 80 stab wounds and other injuries in total, including a large wound inside his mouth and cheek.

The last words McHugh's victim could recall being said were: "Just die."

A passing taxi and its passenger alerted police but as they arrived McHugh fled the scene - kicking his victim one last time as he left, said Janes.

The judge said the actions of the passing taxi may well have saved the victim's life.

The victim spent nine days in an induced coma in hospital after surgery, and through a victim impact statement told the court he suffered "ongoing discomfort" and "a profound" psychological impact on his day-to-day life.

After leaving the scene, McHugh went to nearby Burton Joyce, where he broke into a property in the early hours of 7 May, pushing past the homeowner who had risen to use the toilet in the night, to take their car keys and leave in their Citroen C3.

Members of the public were warned not to approach "dangerous" McHugh, who had fled to meet Tomlinson for help.

But McHugh was caught at his home address in Harrogate Road in Bakersfield a day later after Tomlinson called police.

He handed himself in with items of evidence bagged up ready for the police to seize.

Defending McHugh, Sue Rodham said her client deserved credit for admitting his actions and pleading guilty at the first available opportunity.

She said McHugh showed "genuine remorse" for offences he carried out while suffering from "severe PTSD" while Rebecca Coleman, for Tomlinson, argued her client had not expected such serious injuries to be inflicted and was "remorseful".

McHugh pleaded guilty to attempted murder, two counts of false imprisonment, and burglary.

Tomlinson pleaded guilty to assisting an offender to commit kidnap and perverting the course of justice.

Sentencing, Watson told McHugh: "This was a deeply worrying course of events over the course of several days.

"You went to his address with hostile intent in mind. You took a knife to the scene.

"The attempt to kill him came from a place of apparent calm which demonstrates this was not a spontaneous act."

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