30/06/2005

Stabbing victim Abigail continues to recover

Stabbing victim Abigail Witchalls’ condition is continuing to improve, doctors have said.

The 26-year-old, who was left paralysed after being stabbed in the neck in Little Bookham, Surrey, in April, is receiving treatment at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital.

A hospital spokesperson said that Abigail was recovering “in small but important ways and could now lift her right arm a small amount and move the fingers in her right hand.

Abigail is now also able to eat small amounts of pureed food and is able to speak softly. She can even sit in a wheelchair for longer periods of time, aided by a brace, which supports her body.

Mrs Witchalls is also pregnant with her second child and the hospital confirmed that scans, taken at seven and eleven weeks, showed that the pregnancy was progressing as normal.

Abigail said that she was “in good hands” and felt “incredibly blessed”. She said that she was excited by the progress she was making and was happy to be able to spend more time with her 23-month-old son Joseph, who was with her at the time of the attack.

Her husband, Benoit, said that members of the family were spending time with Abigail every day.

Surrey police are preparing a file for the Crown Prosecution Service, putting forward 23-year-old Richard Cazaly as a suspect in the stabbing of Abigail Witchalls.

Mr Cazaly left Little Bookham shortly after the attack on Abigail and later died in Edinburgh of an apparent overdose.

(KMcA/SP)

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29 April 2005
Police granted more time to question Abigail suspect
Surrey police have been granted more time to question a 25-year-old man in connection with the stabbing of Abigail Witchalls last week. The man was arrested on Wednesday evening in Croydon, south London and is being held in custody at Staines police station. Police will now be able to question him until Saturday morning.
04 May 2005
Abigail transferred to spinal injuries unit
Abigail Witchalls, the young mother who was stabbed in the neck in a horrific attack two weeks ago, has been transferred to a specialist spinal injuries unit. The 26-year-old had been in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south London since the attack, which left her paralysed.
10 June 2005
New witness in Abigail stabbing case
Police have confirmed that a new witness has come forward in the investigation into the stabbing of Abigail Witchalls. The development emerged after Abigail, who is still being treated in hospital following the attack in April, had failed to pick out suspect Richard Cazaly in a photo identity parade.
28 April 2005
Police arrest man in Abigail case
A 25-year-old Surrey man has been arrested in connection with the attack of Abigail Witchalls, police have confirmed. Surrey police confirmed that the man had been arrested last night, but said that the arrest was “only one line of inquiry” and said that police were still following up other information.
26 April 2005
Abigail’s attacker held knife to son’s throat
The man who stabbed young mother Abigail Witchalls in the neck first held a knife to the throat of her 21-month-old son Joseph, police said. Mrs Witchalls, who is still in St Georges Hospital in south London, following the attack in Little Bookham, Surrey, last Wednesday, gave her statement to the police yesterday.