George Harrison's attacker has first day in court
LONDON--The trial of the man accused of violently attacking former Beatle George Harrison and his wife Olivia began at England's Oxford Crown Court on Tuesday (11/14). Michael Abram, 34, is alleged to have stabbed 57-year-old Harrison and his wife, 52, at their home in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, after breaking into it on Dec. 30, 1999.
Abram, from Liverpool, England, denies two charges of attempted murder by reason of insanity. He also denies charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, unlawful wounding and aggravated burglary. If Abram is found guilty of the attacks, a jury will also have to determine whether he was sane or insane on the night in question.
Prosecuting lawyer Simon Mayo told the court that the Harrisons were woken up by a loud noise at 3.30 a.m. Abram is alleged to have run up the stairs wielding a knife and a pole from a broken statue, then started attacking Harrison.
Harrison described the night he was attacked in a written statement given in evidence to Oxford Crown Court: "I shouted at him 'Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna.' I vividly remember a deliberate thrust of the knife towards my chest. I felt my chest deflate and the flow of blood towards my mouth. I believed I had been fatally stabbed.'
Olivia Harrison was said to have defended her husband by grabbing a brass poker and hitting the attacker repeatedly. Abram then allegedly knocked her to the floor and began attacking her.
She said in a statement, "I raised my hand and hit the man on the back of the head as many times as I could, as hard as I could. My husband said: 'Get him, get him.'"
Mayo said that the attack only ended after the police arrived and arrested Abram. He also added that Abram thought he was sent on "a mission by God to kill George Harrison."
Abrams' trial is expected to last three to four days.
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