Why the Net has the advantage in the ‘Undies world’
- Shopping blogger Emma Iannarilli
Owner tells of horse attack anguish
Thursday 21st February 2008, 11:44AM GMT.
The owner of a horse which had to be put down after a brutal attack with a meat cleaver has told of her anguish at losing the pet she loved “like a mother loves a child”.
Davina Bowyer watched from a court’s public gallery as Matthew Corfield and Alex Lister, both aged 19, admitted causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal. Corfield, of Higgs Road, Wednesfield, who laughed as he carried out the attack on 19-year-old mare Maggie, faces a possible jail term when he returns to court for sentencing next month.
Maggie suffered a five-inch-deep cut to her neck, a three-and-a-half-inch cut on her shoulder and her right leg was broken.
Stafford Magistrates Court was told a 12-inch by five-inch blade was used in the attack. The mare’s rear-leg tendon was severed by a blow which cut to the bone.
Lister, of Olinthus Avenue, Wednesfield, who tried to film two men, including Corfield, running after the horse, on his mobile phone, pleaded guilty on the basis he was not aware of the meat cleaver being used and can expect a community sentence.
Speaking after the case, Miss Bowyer, aged 47, from Essington, said: “A major part of my life has been taken away.
“I loved Maggie as a mother loves a child. I can’t function day to day knowing the way she was taken away from me.”
Recalling the horrific scene she was met with after being alerted that her horse had been attacked at Essington Hall Farm on April 13 last year, Miss Bowyer broke down in tears.
She said:“She was lying down. There was blood everywhere. She saw me as I ran over to her and she tried to get up but collapsed back to the floor.
“She lay there rubbing her head against me. The vet came and I just hoped something could be done but one leg was completely smashed and an achilles tendon had been severed.”
Davina, who broke in and raised Maggie from a yearling and was with her every day for 18 years, says no sentence is enough.
She said: “I just wish this could be treated as murder because that’s what it is.”
Sponsored Links
Business Awards
Book a Business Awards table
Join our celebrations of the region's best in business on Thursday March 22 - book your table now
Lifestyle
Interactive Dining Out map
Hundreds of reviews by the Express & Star and Shropshire Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.
entertainment
All the film reviews
Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases
OUR NEW APP
Get the new E&S app
Download the Express & Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.
expressandstar.com
Popular sections
Useful links
Disgusting people. Do the same to them. See how they like it.
Report abuse
Ive got 4 horses myself, when they get old (and Maggie wasnt old) you expect to lose them to old age, but to lose a horse like this is unthinkable!! Maggie was clearly much loved, something these yobs who murdered her will never know about. I hope their parents and family are proud of them, they have raised such nice thoughtfull boys, who go around killing an innocent animal for FUN!!!! No punishment will bring Maggie back, so its not good enough.
Report abuse
Davina
My heart goes out to you.
You can tell the feeling of the public by the comments printed yesterday including my own. Hopefully the judge will be an animal lover and those excuse’s for humans will de dealt with SEVERELY.
I agree with what a lot of people said yesterday. Animal cruelty leads onto far worse. TAKE THEM OUT OF THE GENE POOL NOW and do us all a favour.
Karma will sort them out Davina.You see!
Report abuse
losing a horse to a medical condition is bad enough but when your horse that you see as your own child taken away from you by unessasery pain and suffering i dont know how davina could ever get over it she is a icon to me because i dont know how i could cope if my horses life got stolen from me.
Report abuse
I am fed up with continually reading about cruelty to animals let alone the YOB culture we are having to put up with in society.
Why can’t we introduce a “Boot Camp” system run by ex SAS personnel who would instill some much needed discipline which seems to be sadly lacking in some of our younger generation. This minority of people need to be punished and I think this would be an ideal solution to an increasing problem in this country.
Report abuse
i think the same should be done to these boys. it is murder. because its on an animal, shouldnt make it a lesser sentence. they are obviously unhinged and un safe people. they need to be kept off our streets
Report abuse
what do the parents think of their sons actions i hope they to are devastated that they could do this
Report abuse
I think the boot camp idea is excellent, but then some do-gooder would be saying we are violating their human rights! What a sorry world we live in.
Report abuse
Scum, that is what they are, nothing more nothing less, they should be the ones being put down.
Report abuse
My heart goes out to Davina. Poor, poor Maggie. I am ashamed to breathe the same air as those rotters who did this. They should be tortured, in public, and thoroughly humiliated. I fear for the future of a society where some of its younger members think it is a “laugh” to carry out such a wicked deed.
Report abuse
I wonder if the express and star could make sure Davina sees responses today’s article has had. There are about 50 responses to the article featured on Monday or Tuesday this week . I know it wont bring Maggie back but may be Davina could take some comfort in knowing the rest of us are thinking of her at this time. We are all as shocked and disgusted as she is. RIP Maggie xx
Report abuse
The thing is the justice system needs to look at this type of crime very carefully. It is well documented that animal cruelty is just one step away from human cruelty and murder.
This crime MUST be harshly dealt with or these people will continue to abuse animals and very soon people. LOCK THEM UP NOW or be VERY SORRY FOR A LONG TIME. If they don’t get time A LONG TIME Hopefully what goes around comes around.
Report abuse
I think we should bring back the old ways of doing things, national service would be a good idea, at least when that was around people learned the meaning of respect!! as th government gets softer with punishments in schools and prison sentences, the people get worse!! And as for the do-gooders with their human rights what about everyones elses human rights!!! we all have the basic right to feel safe in our own homes!! instead people are too scared to go out because of these yobs!! wheres the justice in that!!!
I hope the lads get what they deserve!!!
Report abuse
If i walked past and saw them doing what they have, i’d have got them for you. They wouldn’t even make it to court if i had my way. It’s disgusting. They don’t deserve to live. So sorry x
Report abuse
Sadly they won’t get what they deserve. Someone will crawl from the woodwork to defend their actions with teary tales of a difficult upbringing of one sort or another. Sadism such as this should mean mandatory incarceration in a secure unit. It could well be a defenceless human next time…perhaps then it will be treated as murder. God Bless Davina x
Report abuse
Davina I hope you get your revenge.If somebody did that
to an animal of mine I would deal out my own punishment.
Hopefully they will get cancer or aids..its what they deserve.
An eye for an eye….
RIP Maggie xxx
Report abuse
Community service for videoing the attack ! Lister is a guilty as Corfield and should recieve the same sentence. If he had filmed them killing a child would he be let off ? NO he would be an accessory to murder and equally guilty. Where’s the difference? If I were to organise and video a dog fight I would be as guilty as the owners. Our legal system is wrong and we should all be writing to and if needs be using our vote to force our MPs to level the playing field on current criminals.
Report abuse
I would have thought attempting to video this ordeal was as bad as weilding the blade. Yet we are warned Lister may only get a community order. NOT TO MY COMMUNITY I REFUSE TO RECOGNISE HIM OR ACCEPT HIM AS PART OF IT! and we should all do the same. Public pressure and feeling ought to count for something.
Report abuse
the bleeding heart brigade will have a say and this scum will be let off with no more than a slap on the wrist/ah no sorry that is against their human rights/naughty boys don’t do it again that will be the drivel from the mouth of an out of touch judge.
pathetic is the word for it make them pay ,flog them and make a public joke of them and then take off the hands that cut the animal and filmed it.
Report abuse
I was at court – Corfields dad was laughing at the people who where there to support Davina. LAUGHING! Just like Corfield was that night when he was cutting Maggie to bits.
Report abuse
Davina you are such a brave woman. The public must NOT under any circumstances allow this to be forgotten. Crimes like this have to be stopped and i pray that the local community / media in the area insist that the magistrates be fully aware of the depth of feeling.
Someone, somewhere has to hand down the worse punishment available while the rest of us animal lovers fight to have the max punishment increased. Make this type of thing, history – not just another bad news story that we shrug off or forget. Daily news is full of yobs who constantly commit the most outragous, sickening acts.
Report abuse
I wonder how long before people take the law into their own hands. Like others I am fed up of reading about these evil young people. It is about time they tasted their own medicine and realised there is always payback for evil.
Report abuse
i know these boys and to this day still cant stand to be around them. i feel sick to the stomach. they deserve to feel the pain theat poor horse felt.
Report abuse
My Grandfather used to tell me when I was a lad, about similar crimes against horses near the Pleck in the 1920′s. Strange !!!
Report abuse
The youth who committed this sadistic attack on a horse gets only five months. Does this sentence
justify his actions and is he safe to be let out ever?
Report abuse
Lister should have got much more than community service, it’s ridiculous. There’s no excuse for what both of them did, but I do think that everyone thinks it’s alot worse than it would be if they attacked a person. No, the sentence doesn’t justify Corfield’s actions, but he’s taken his sentence when Lister got away with what he did. And as for Lister saying he was unaware of the blade being used, I find that ridiculous. How would he not know, whilst he was trying to video the whole thing?
Corfield did an awful thing, we all agree. But people who’re saying he should be put down just like the horse was, are the animal lovers amongst us. There’s teenagers who are always harming people on their streets, but the victims get no recognition for this. I really can’t see the justice in half of these comments.
Report abuse