An ambulance worker in the UK was imprisoned after a brutal hammer attack that started over a roster dispute. In what police called a "frenzied and unprovoked" attack, Stacey Smith, 46, ambushed her manager, Michala Morton, outside Morton's Tameside house and repeatedly struck her on the head with a hammer.
A protracted dispute over work shifts led to the incident on the morning of November 11, 2023. While attempting to defend herself from Smith's strikes, Morton, a patient transport manager with the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), sustained severe injuries, including a broken wrist.
According to the BBC, the 46-year-old later texted a friend to say, "I've smashed her head in-Oopsie xx" after leaving her victim with "serious head injuries," police said. Smith, from Newton Heath in Manchester, was found guilty of attempted murder and jailed for 20 years, with a five-year license period to follow.
Manchester Crown Court heard she told police she had a disagreement with her manager about shift patterns after their relationship had deteriorated since the Covid pandemic. She screamed at her boss and threatened to kill her as she attacked her outside her home at 05:30 GMT.
Detective Constable Stephen McNee of GMP's Tameside Criminal Investigation Department, said: "This was a particularly violent attack on the victim which left her with serious and life changing injuries. Physically injuries may heal but the mental trauma of the attack will stay with the victim for life. I'd like to thank her for her bravery in supporting us with our investigation."
"I'd also like to thank the local residents who came to the victim's aid on the morning of the attack, they ensured initial first aid was given to the victim before emergency services arrived and also made sure that the hammer was covered in a plastic bag to maximise the forensic evidence we could take."
