Husband of mum-of-two stabbed to death by schizophrenic knifeman as he listened helplessly on the phone wishes he could have ‘protected her’
Nicola Cross was killed by complete stranger Marcin Porczynski in September
THE husband of a mum-of-two killed by a schizophrenic knifeman in front of her young kids has said he will "never forgive himself" for not being there to protect her.
Defenceless Nicola Cross, 37, was stabbed ten times by complete stranger Marcin Porczynski as she bravely tried to stop him from abducting her six-year-old son and daughter aged three.
Her husband Daniel, who was away travelling, was forced to listen to her terrified screams after Nicola rang him in a panic.
He heard as his wife pleaded with the killer - before she was knifed repeatedly in a frenzy in front of her children.
In a statement, Daniel paid tribute to his wife who he spent 11 years with and said they had an almost "sickeningly perfect" life that was now destroyed.
He said: "That phone call plays over and over in my head along with Nik's screams and her pleading for her life.
"I will never forgive myself for not being there to protect her."
Polish national Porczynski was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time and had been hearing voices telling him to "free" children or risk harm to his own family.
Today a judge handed him an indefinite hospital order after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility.
She was completely defenceless against the vicious knife attack you then launched upon her.
Judge Andrew Bright QC
Porczynski will remain in a secure hospital, currently Rampton Hospital in Notts, until he is judged well enough to be able to be released into the community.
There is no minimum or maximum time limit on this, but the court heard his mental illness is "treatable" and "can be controlled with appropriate medication".
Judge Andrew Bright QC, said the "horrific and senseless killing" represented "the worst possible nightmare of every husband and parent".
He said: "Although Nicola Cross tried to reason with you and heroically did her best to protect herself and her two young children from you, she was completely defenceless against the vicious knife attack you then launched upon her."
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He added: "You have devastated the lives of the Cross family and left two young children to grow up without the wonderful mother who so loved and cared for them.
"Those responsible for deciding if and when you should ever be released back into the community will need to look long and hard at the full circumstances of the dreadful killing which your mental illness led you to commit."
On September 14, 2015 Porczynski smashed his way into the home in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, by throwing a plant pot through the patio door.
The children, who were in bed on the top floor of the terraced house at the time, were woken by their mum's attacker.
Police were unable to get through the front door but could see Mrs Cross through the upstairs bathroom window, while she was being attacked.
They went round to the back garden gate, which was locked but they could see Porczynski holding the younger child's hand in the garden.
He was stopped by police before he could leave the address with the youngsters.
The children escaped uninjured except from small cuts on their feet, probably from walking on broken glass.
During a hearing at St Albans Crown Court, Porczynski denied murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, which was accepted by the prosecution.
He sobbed in the dock as a victim impact statement from Nicola’s devastated husband was read to the court.
Daniel said he saw, "no future happiness, no end to this trauma until my life comes to an end".
Four further charges of attempted kidnap, burglary and aggravated burglary were laid on file.
The widower was joined by 13 members of his wife’s family and friends in court.
Many could be heard softly crying as the details of the horrific crime were read out.
Prosecutor Chris Donnellan told the court how the mentally unstable attacker, 24, had been seen roaming the neighbourhood in the hours before the attack, knocking on doors and asking if there were children there.
Nicola called the police shortly before 11pm when Porczynski began peering through the windows of her house on Dunlin Road.
After initially being stopped by officers, who found him to be a "bit distant", he was allowed to return to his home on nearby Claymore Avenue.
But he returned to the area at around 11.30pm – this time armed with a knife.
At first he broke into a neighbouring address by accident and while police responded to reports of a burglary officers heard a smash and screams from next door.
After breaking through the patio doors of Nicola’s home, Porczynski is said to have grabbed an even larger knife from the kitchen and gone upstairs to attack Nicola on the first floor.
Donnellan said it appeared the smaller knife was initially used in the attack then discarded in favour of the large one.
That phone call plays over and over in my head, along with Nik's screams and her pleading for her life.
Daniel Cross
After the frenzied attack Porczynski went up to one of the bedrooms where he laid the bloody knife.
He then tried to carry the kids away but fortunately did not physically harm them, the court heard.
A neighbour heard one of the children telling their mother’s killer: "No, I don't want you here."
Officers stopped the defendant as he was on his way out of the house, reporting he appeared "vacant".
They then came across the children at the bottom of the stairs, where one told them: "He has hurt my mummy badly."
The youngsters, who were said to be in a state of shock, were then kept in a room upstairs as officers attended to the mother, who was declared dead at the scene.
Traces of cocaine and cannabis were found in the killer's bloodstream but the prosecution said it did not have a bearing on the attack.
The court was told the defendant had started behaving strangely three weeks before the killing, alarming a friend by talking frequently about things that hadn’t happened.
After his arrest, the court heard he claimed he believed he had to save the children, who were being "starved".
When and if he is ever released from hospital, Porczynski will be "monitored closely" to ensure his mental health doesn't deteriorate.
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