King to award bravery medal to Liverpool neighbour who seized knife from attacker

A hero Liverpool neighbour has told of seizing a knife from an attacker during a repeated stabbing which left a young couple's house covered in blood.

Paul Martin, now 39, a payroll clerk from the Old Swan area of the city, was working from home on April 14 2021 when he heard someone outside shouting for help.

Mr Martin's bloodied neighbour, Wesley Pemberton, told him that his girlfriend Kelsey Anne Gielinck was being stabbed by her friend Lauren Walsh in their home, so he rushed inside to intervene.

He is to be awarded The King's Commendation for Bravery for seizing the knife away from Walsh, before staying with Ms Gielinck until an ambulance arrived.

Mr Martin said: "There was blood all over the place, I shouted 'girls, what are you doing?'... she (Walsh) just froze and I walked over and actually took the knife from her, I was under the impression that she didn't know what was going on.

"It was like a red mist had come over her, she looked at me with a blank expression on her face, I just took the knife from her and got Kelsey out of the house."

Ms Gielinck, then 21, was stabbed 18 times in her own home by Walsh, who had stolen her bank card and spent money on it the morning of the attack, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

A trial at Liverpool Crown Court heard that Walsh and Ms Gielinck had spent three hours talking alone in the house before the incident.

Ms Gielinck, who had contacted the police about the stolen card, did not suspect Walsh nor did the attacker admit that she was the thief.

At just after 3pm, Mr Pemberton entered the home and was on the phone when without warning Walsh slashed his girlfriend in the nose and the attack began.

Mr Pemberton, then 22, was stabbed him in the chest, back and hand as he tried to escape the house to get help.

In December 2021, Walsh, aged 22, was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of two counts of attempted murder, the CPS said.

Speaking about his gallantry award, Mr Martin added: "I'm pleasantly surprised, it was my wife who put me forward so I had no idea about it. It's nice to hear that you get appreciated.

"It's been three years now but I still keep in touch with the two people who got attacked, and really I just want to put it all behind me now.

"It's something that happened and I'm just glad that they survived."

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