The harrowing accounts of three young people who suffered a frenzied and unprovoked knife attack at the hands of their friend were read out in court today.

Leon Dowbenko, 20, of Fairfax Road, Cullingworth, was sentenced to a Hospital Order without limit of time for wounding aspiring actor and model Taylor Wells, 23, and his 20-year-old friend Jake Oldfield with intent to cause them grievous bodily harm and attempting to cause Mr Oldfield’s girlfriend, Olivia Pentelow, 21, grievous bodily harm with intent.

All three attended Bradford Crown Court for the sentencing hearing.

The attack at Mr Oldfield and Miss Pentelow’s flat in Sand Beds, Queensbury, on July 21, 2020 had left them all deeply damaged, the court heard.

Mr Wells was stabbed in the heart by Dowbenko and survived only after an emergency operation in the back of the ambulance at the roadside.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

He escaped from the flat through a skylight and fell from the roof after Dowbenko attacked him with a knife he took from the kitchen.

Mr Wells said in his victim personal statement that the stabbing had “completely messed my life up.”

He was living independently but had to move back home. He was unable to work and had to set up a GoFundMe page to appeal for financial help to pay his bills.

He was an aspiring model but the scars on his chest had made him look like Frankenstein, he said.

“People say I’m lucky, but I don’t feel lucky,” he stated.

Of Dowbenko, he said: “He knew what he was doing so why did he do that to me and my friends?”

Mr Wells said he now struggled to sleep and his chest felt tight in the cold weather.

He suffered with depression and anxiety.

“I’m constantly on edge expecting the worst to happen,” he disclosed.

He thinks he has PTSD and had seen a counsellor, the court heard.

He told how he cut short a holiday with friends because he was physically unable to join in with all the activities and felt he was holding the group back.

Mr Oldfield, a mechanic, (pictured below) said he and Miss Pentelow had lost their home because they felt unable to stay in the flat after the attack.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus:

He had to rely on his family to assist with housing, his sleep was disrupted and he had nightmares and flashbacks.

“Just thinking about it makes my heart race,” he said.

His face was scarred, he had lost a tooth and he had nerve damage.

Mr Oldfield said he found it hard to trust people after the violent and unprovoked attack.

He stayed in for much of the time because he was worried about being assaulted again.

Miss Pentelow said the attack had stripped her of her independence because she lost her home.

She told of her anguish at having to clean up her boyfriend and friend’s blood in the flat.

She was now very aware of her surroundings and barely saw anyone except Jake and Taylor.

Miss Pentelow also told of her difficulty sleeping and her ongoing issues with trust.