A MEAT cleaver in a black box was held up in a hushed courtroom as a grim exhibit in the case of the attempted murder of widowed pensioner Lilian Lovatt.

The lethal weapon - minus a jagged shard of metal that was later surgically removed from the skull of his victim - was used to butcher the old lady as she stood helplessly in her own home.

Chester Crown Court heard how paranoid schizophrenic Lee Cotterill tricked his way into Lilian's home by claiming there was a prowler in her back garden, before launching his savage and frenzied attack.

It also was told how he sliced her face, neck and hands at least SEVENTY times. Surgeons, who had to amputate four fingers on her left hand after a four hour life-saving operation, said when they got to that number they stopped counting.

Cotterill mercilessly sawed at her neck with the meat cleaver, almost severing major arteries, the court was told.

And he cut through her nose and hacked off part of her ear.

The court heard that Cotterill stopped and fled only after his victim lay at his feet begging for her life in a pool of blood.

Last week jobless Cotterill, 23, of Kingsway, Bollington, was sent for an indefinite period to a mental hospital after admitting attempted murder.

Afterwards, Detective Chief Inspector Geraint Jones, who attended the scene, said: "I have dealt with murders and when I was called on this I thought this would be a murder inquiry.

"To survive her injuries and the extent of her injuries, I have never seen anything like that and neither had the paramedical staff or the judge."

He paid tribute to the courage of the old lady who survived the attack.

He said: "We are glad we caught him. Lilian Lovatt is a remarkable lady. Her courage and dignity has been displayed throughout this investigation."

Earlier the court heard how the defendant had known his victim since he was a little boy and lived with his own great-grandparents just two doors away.

And he later told detectives that he regarded Lilian as his "gran".

Cotterill claimed he heard voices urging him to attack the 77-year-old widow - now 78.

Her hooded and gloved attacker was confined to the Scott Clinic, a medium secure hospital unit, for an indeterminate amount of time.

He will not be freed unless a tribunal and the Home Secretary agree the intruder, 22 at the time of the attack, is no longer considered to be a danger to the public.

Earlier Judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans, studied a series of pictures showing details of the wounds sustained by the victim, and agreed he had never seen such dreadful injuries.

Mr Robert Trevor-Jones, counsel for the prosecution, who said Lilian suffered from arthritis and had survived a heart attack two years ago, added: "She was covered in blood from head to toe.

"Her clothes were drenched in blood and there was a pool of blood at her feet. Skin from her forehead was hanging over her eyes.

"Her left hand was destroyed. Her fingers kept attached to her hand only by skin."

Mr Trevor-Jones said Cotterill, who had just had an argument with his great-grandparents, knocked on Lilian's front door just before 9pm on Saturday, February 11, telling her he had seen a prowler in her garden.

He said security conscious Lilian, who always kept the chain on the door, allowed Cotterill inside as she recognised his voice.

But she knew something was not right. She later told police he looked like "he was miles away".

Mr Trevor-Jones said that although Cotterill did have a history of drug abuse there was no evidence to show he was under the influence that night.

He said Lilian managed to drag herself into her living room armchair. Appallingly injured, she still managed to phone her son Mark, who rushed round and forced the front door to get in.

Two officers first on the scene - one an experienced inspector with many years service and the other a female constable young in service - were both offered counselling and support by Cheshire Constabulary after witnessing the carnage.

Mr Trevor-Jones said: "Lee Cotterill stabbed her and smashed her so many times that it was difficult for the medical team treating her to calculate the precise number of wounds.

"It is a remarkable testament to her fortitude that Mrs Lovatt managed to move back home three months ago and can maintain partially her independent lifestyle."

A 16-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted assisting an offender when she appeared alongside him.

She was sentenced to a three-year supervision order with a six-month curfew between the hours of 8pm to 7am. She spent five days in custody on remand awaiting sentence.

Mr Trevor-Jones said the girl washed Mrs Lovatt's blood from the walls of Cotterill's home, laundered his blood-soaked clothes and provided him with a fresh change.

The pair hid the gloves and cleaver - bought by Cotterill three weeks previously - in nearby bracken.

The court was told that Cotterill initially denied any involvement during police interviews, at one point telling officers there was "another" person, also called Lee, wearing the same clothing, who had been seen covered in blood.

But after the girl, described as having "problems in her personal life", confessed, Cotterill told a cellmate he had tried to "chop off" Lilian's hands to get her jewellery and added he had got the idea from a television programme.

Andrew Green, counsel for the defence, praised Lilian as a "courageous and remarkable woman".

He said: "She and her family will have spent the last nine months asking themselves: 'Why did this happen? What was it that led Lee Cotterill to do what he did?'

"All of the doctors reports are in agreement about one thing; that Lee Cotterill suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

"His ailments had developed to the point where he was persistently hearing voices telling him to carry out an attack."

Mr Green said schizophrenia was not common. He said his client had never before shown a propensity for violence - it was understandable that his ailment went undiagnosed and untreated.

Judge Mr Justice Roderick Evans accepted that Cotterill was mentally ill and made a section 41 hospital order.

He said: "This is the balancing act that we refer to as the 'mad or bad' balancing act."

The Judge told the defendant, who stood passively in the dock: "This is an horrendous case. If you were not mentally ill you would go to prison for a long, long time - in all probability a life sentence."

  • AN application made by the Macclesfield Express to identify the girl was denied by the judge, who while acknowledging the public interest in the case, said the girl was only in an adult court because of Cotterill.