Dad stabbed six times in Dudley street was seconds from death

The victim was attacked by resident Christvie Ludi after arriving drunk and shouting at the front door outside a relative’s home in Tudor Terrace on December 31, 2024 at around 2.30am.

Ludi, who was then aged 18, was sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court after previously pleading guilty to offences of wounding with intent and possession of a blade before his trial in March this year. The 31-year-old victim suffered injuries to his left lung, spleen and kidney.

Miss Laurie Scott, prosecuting, said: “The victim turned up in Tudor Terrace because his partner lived at the property with their young daughter. He didn’t live there and was drunk and being noisy. He was shouting up a the windows and woke up several people who looked outside to see what was happening.

“He was shouting through the letterbox and also woke up Christvie Ludi who lived next door. CCTV shows Ludi coming out of his house next to where the man was. He had already started to walk away up the street. Ludi strode after him and can be heard asking him to ‘stop’ and ‘wait’ and asking ‘what are you doing?’ The man was oblivious and carries on walking.

“Then footage from Aras Road and Corporation Road picks up that the man realised that Ludi was coming behind him and asked him ‘what’s the problem?’ Ludi replied, ‘wait there’ and ‘get killed right now blood. Try that again’. The pair come together and something glinting is seen in Ludi’s hand. There is some slashing and stabbing motions to the victim’s body. The victim was walking backwards away from him.

“They part ways and Ludi walks back the way he came.”

Miss Scott said the badly injured man was found collapsed at a bus stop after a member of the public phoned 999. He was found by officers who saw the wounds when they checked under his clothing. he had sustained six wounds , one of which was deep and cause his left lung to collapse.

The court heard that the defendant had two previous convictions for possessing machetes and a hammer in 2022 relating to incidents in Smethwick and Dudley when he was 16. He received a youth referral order as a result.

Mr David Langwallner, defending, said in the latest incident the victim was “within nano seconds of dying”. He said following the attack Ludi was diagnosed with interchangeable sociopathy and schizophrenia which affected his sense of reality and judgement and he had a warped sense of perceived threat. He said the defendant had improved since made being admitted at Reaside Clinic where doctors recommended he remain for at least another two years for effective treatment.

“Somebody should have realised all of this about him a long time ago and he could have been treated,” Mr Langwallner added.

Judge Jonathan Gosling agreed and made Ludi subject to a hospital order under sections 37 and 41 of Mental Health Act.

At the time cordon was put in place in the streets off Birmingham Road while police continued their investigations but was lifted at around 11am the next day.

The court heard that the victim recovered, but had not given the court any impact statement.

Ludi was initially charged with attempting to murder the man, but this was subsequently charged to wounding instead.