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A woman recalled the devastating moment her husband repeatedly stabbed her at a supermarket, killing her unborn baby.

Laura McCarten, 27, was working on a checkout at an Asda store when Paul McCarten, 35, knifed her three times in front of horrified shoppers.

But she Laura somehow survived the harrowing ordeal in January 2002 by a by a "miracle" - and thanks to the intervention of a heroic customer, Liverpool Echo reports.

And she summoned up the courage to give evidence against her tormentor at a trial that June, leading to him being jailed for 11 years.

This week, the serial woman beater was locked up again, over a campaign of domestic abuse against yet another traumatised partner.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

The extent of his disturbing past has now been detailed, which includes the knife attack caught on CCTV, which left Merseyside stunned.

He "pistol-whipped" his estranged wife, had a gun buried in his garden, and threatened to shoot another woman dead.

And it explains why every woman in the city should know his face.

Security cameras captured the moment evil McCarten entered the Asda Huyton store, at around 5.30pm, on January 17, 2002.

They recorded McCarten walking over to Laura and chatting to her at a till, just weeks after she left the love rat because of an affair.

Terrified shoppers could be seen wincing as he then pulled out a seven inch kitchen knife and brought it down from above his head.

He first plunged the blade into his estranged wife's back, between her shoulder blades, as onlookers edged away from the assault.

McCarten struck out again - this time punching the blade through her heart - before chaos took over, as he slashed at her arm.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

Miraculously, the victim managed to get to her feet, before McCarten was confronted by brave Kenneth Dawick, a customer in his 60s.

Mr Dawick, who suffered rib injuries when he grappled with the knifeman, forced the would-be killer to drop the blade.

He was hurled to the floor by McCarten, but his heroics gave Laura - who was losing blood by the pint - a chance to start running.

McCarten tried to escape but was rugby tackled by an Asda security guard, who risked his own life to prevent any further bloodshed.

The footage showed the guard escort McCarten to a side room, where the knifeman calmly lit a cigarette and waited for police to arrive.

Laura was led to safety in another room by a colleague, as blood poured from her wounds, and paramedics took her away on a stretcher.

During a five-day trial, the heartbroken victim revealed she miscarried two days after the stabbing - having been trying for a child for four years.

She said the attack was one of "too many to remember" and claimed her husband once "pistol-whipped" her until blood gushed from her head.

Laura said he also strangled her until she passed out, and gave her two black eyes, just days before their wedding in the Dominican Republic.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

She explained how she learned her husband was having an affair and finally left him on Christmas Day 2001, because of his cheating ways.

Liverpool Crown Court heard McCarten was undeterred and continued to phone his estranged wife, then sent her threatening text messages.

Laura said: "He phoned me and he said 'is it over?'. I said 'yes' and he said, 'you've just signed your own death warrant'."

The victim hadn't realised she had been stabbed until she saw the handle of one of her own kitchen knives sticking out of her chest.

Laura, from Kirkby, told the jury: "I remember the ambulance man holding my hand and giving him my mum and dad's phone number.

(Image: Liverpool Echo)

"I told him to tell my mum and dad that I loved them."

Asked why she did this, Laura burst into tears and replied: "Because I thought I was going to die."

When arrested, McCarten claimed he had gone to find his wife with the sole intention of harming himself in front of her, "to show his devotion".

The thug, who was caught with cocaine, said he was "desperate", and lost control when he saw she was no longer wearing her wedding ring.

A transcript of his police interview revealed the ludicrous claim that he stabbed Laura to prove he loved her - and only aimed for her arm.

He said: "I asked her if we could talk. She said go through the solicitors. I took the knife out. I just wanted to cut my wrists to let her know how much I loved her."

Asked why he attacked Laura, McCarten replied: "I just wanted to frighten her. I just lunged at her arm. Just to let her know I loved her. I would not harm her."

The court also heard that detectives searched McCarten's home after the stabbing and found a handgun buried in the back garden.

Hours before the attack, he had phoned a woman he was having a relationship with and told her he was going to harm Laura.

His mistress told the jury: "He said 'I'm out with two friends celebrating my last day of freedom.

"It looks like the wife is on the cards. I'm going to plug her tonight'."

A jury took just two and a half hours deliberation to find McCarten, formerly of Dentwood Road, Huyton, guilty of attempted murder.

Laura's mum, Sue McKinlay, said: "Laura just wants to get on with her life now. She says she is going to go back to work at Asda. She wants to get her life back into some sort of order and enjoy her life again.

"Emotionally, Laura is a bag of nerves. She has no confidence. That has completely gone.

"She is uneasy about going to strange places where she does not know anyone.

"She can only relax with people she is familiar with. The physical scars are terrible. She also gets out of breath very easily."

Sentencing McCarten, Mr Justice Andrew Smith told him: "Your attack was intended to kill her and you may well have succeeded when you plunged the knife through her heart. I am satisfied that you were obsessive and jealous.

"I don't believe that when you stabbed her it was a sudden or impulsive decision. I am satisfied your crime was planned."

Detective Inspector Nicky Holland, who led the police investigation, said Laura was just 1mm from death when the knife cut her heart.

She told the ECHO that McCarten would have been hit with a life sentence for murder, if the blade had gone just a fraction to the left or right.

Det Insp Holland said she believed only the bravery of Mr Darwick - who was waiting in a queue to pay for his shopping - saved Laura's life.

Signs of domestic abuse Is your partner excessively jealous and possessive?

Is your partner charming one minute and abusive the next? Does your partner have sudden changes of mood – like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

Is your partner stopping you from seeing your family and friends? Do you feel isolated?

Is your partner constantly criticizing you and putting you down in public?

Does your partner embarrass you, often in front of family and friends, so that you are seen in a bad light?

Does your partner play mind games and make you unsure of your own judgment?

Does your partner tell you you’re useless and couldn’t cope without them?

Does your partner control your money?

Does your partner tell you what to wear, who to see, where to go, what to think?

Does your partner pressure you to have sex when you don’t want to?

Are you starting to walk on eggshells to avoid making your partner angry?

Does your partner monitor your movements? Or check up on you via your email, Facebook, Twitter or by looking at your text messages?

Does your partner use anger and intimidation to frighten you and make you comply with his demands?

Has your partner ever threatened you, or intimidated you by using violent language or smashing up the furniture?

Are you forced to alter your behaviour because you are frightened of your partner’s reaction?

Are you blamed for their behaviour e.g. they say you were "asking for it" or deserved the abuse? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you may be experiencing domestic violence. Abuse is a crime and it is never your fault. You don’t have to deal with this alone. Call the freephone National Domestic Violence Helpline at any time on 0808 2000 247. Source: Refuge.org

She said Mr Dawick also prevented one last stab, which may have proved fatal, but the hero was too modest to discuss his selfless actions.

He refused all accolades, except a token payment of £500 from Justice Smith.

Det Insp Holland said: "It is a miracle she survived. People very rarely live after a knife goes through their heart.

"A millimetre to either side and Laura would have been dead."

Defence lawyers for McCarten said 11 friends and colleagues wrote references indicating "another side to the character of this man".

Stephen Riordan QC, told the court: "His mind must have been extremely disturbed and in a state of turmoil to do what he did."

Sadly, what McCarten did to Laura - who has since reverted to her maiden name McKinlay - was not the end of his wicked ways.

While in jail, he began dating Marie Gosling, an old school pal from Burscough, and they planned to marry when he was released.

But she soon came across his controlling ways and when she ended the relationship out of fear, he promised to "get a knife and put it in you".

One sinister letter he sent Miss Gosling read: "You know what I’m in here for. I wouldn't think twice about putting a bullet in you."

He added: "If you are f****** someone else, you know what will happen. You know what I’m in here for."

The unrepentant abuser was found guilty of making threats to kill and harassment after a trial in February 2010.

Judge David Waksman, QC, told him it was a "very disturbing hark back to the attack on your wife" and concluded he was a danger to women.

He was jailed indefinitely under a Sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).

Yet he was released in 2016, after Parole Board officials deemed him no longer a threat, and within a year started abusing an Aintree barmaid.

The now 54-year-old hit Stephanie Johnstone, grabbed her by the throat, and struck her so hard with a mobile phone that it left a head wound.

He punched her for no reason, leaving her with chipped teeth, but the young mum sent photos of her injuries to a friend in a cry for help.

During a 15-month relationship he forced her to give up her job at The Queens pub in Warbreck Moor because of his uncontrollable jealousy.

McCarten threatened to "slit her throat" and after a meal out together, shoved her into the side of his van, and then drove deliberately at her.

When the 31-year-old bought underwear he promised to "kill her," pinched her nostrils together and held her throat, so she couldn't breathe.

Terrified for the safety of her child, the victim - who had wanted to believe he could be a "good man" - eventually contacted a prison officer.

McCarten was recalled to custody on licence, where he was kept for the past two years, before a five-day trial was held in February.

He claimed it was all lies and denied controlling or coercive behaviour, but jurors found him guilty after only one hour and 15 minutes.

In an emotional victim statement, Miss Johnstone described being "scarred" by the abuse and said: "I'm a shell of the person I once was.

"I'm no longer confident or outgoing, instead I'm paranoid and reclusive, even though I've moved house, I still live in fear of him."

Judge Rachel Smith told McCarten: "You present a continuing risk to women with whom you are able to form a relationship."

She jailed emotionless McCarten for three years, however, he won't necessarily be released after serving half of the term.

Because of his IPP, it will be for a Parole Board to determine when he is released and he will remain on an indefinite licence.