Quick-thinking police officer saved the life of man stabbed in the heart in Brownsover

A Rugby man would have died after he was stabbed in the heart – if it had not been for the swift and calm attention he was given by a police officer at the scene.

But the man who stabbed and almost killed Wayne Bevan says he was acting in self-defence, Warwick Crown Court has heard.

Jovan Sleem (37) of Seathwaite, Brownsover, Rugby, has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of Mr Bevan and of Sebastian Gawkiewicz, who was also stabbed during the incident.

With him in the dock is Clifford Kessna (47) of Pickard Close, Rugby, who has also pleaded not guilty to the two charges.

Both men have also denied alternative charges of wounding the two alleged victims with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Prosecutor Talbir Singh told the jury: “Our case is that this involved the use of gratuitous violence by both men on the afternoon of Thursday the 11th of June 2020.

“The other two men sustained life-threatening injuries on being stabbed, and the prosecution say the defendants had the joint intent to kill these two men.”

Mr Singh said the incident took place around two three-storey blocks of flats known as the ‘odd block’ and the ‘even block’ in Skiddaw, Brownsover.

At the time Kessna lived in a ground-floor flat in the even block, where Sleem often stayed at the flat of a friend on the third-floor, while Mr Bevan, Mr Gawkiewicz and his brother Christian lived in the odd block.

At shortly after 3pm Mr Bevan was walking past the even block when he was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from above, and when he looked up he saw Sleem on the top floor.

He ran back to his flat to get help from Mr Gawkiewicz, and the two of them returned to the even block, with Mr Bevan armed with a knife, and began shouting up at the top floor.

Kessna was with Sleem in the flat on the top floor, and they made their way down to confront them, said Mr Singh.

“Before doing so, both men armed themselves with one or perhaps two knives, and made their way down. They were, we say, intent on violence.

“Once outside Kessna ran towards Sebastian Gawkiewicz, who ran away, and he was chased into a corner of the gardens of the flats.