Corby man stabbed 'friend' in the stomach in Kettering town centre

Sean Michael McCulloch, who has previous convictions for knife crime went up to the ‘friend’ and stabbed him once in the stomach.

Shortly after midnight on November 8 last year, CCTV operators contacted Northamptonshire Police after spotting McCulloch with a knife tucked into his waistband.

When the officers arrived at the scene, McCulloch ran away towards Carrington Street, where he was seen on CCTV throwing the knife onto the roof of a nearby building.

Went they caught up with him, he was arrested on suspicion of possession of a knife in a public place. Police then discovered a 38-year-old man with a stab wound. Fortunately, his injuries were not life-threatening, and he has continued to make a full recovery. McCulloch was further arrested in connection with this.

Lead investigator, Detective Constable Olivia Simmons, said: “As a force, we continue to highlight the dangers of knives – they are exceptionally dangerous weapons, and the fact is, this incident could easily have had fatal consequences. Thankfully on this occasion, the victim is continuing with his recovery.

“I’m pleased with the sentence handed out to Sean McCulloch as it shows the seriousness with which his actions have been taken and I also hope the fact he is now behind bars demonstrates this and reassures the communities we serve.

CCTV footage showed McCulloch had walked up to his victim in Silver Street, pulled a knife from his pocket and stabbed him once. The pair were then seen shouting at each other before the victim approached the occupants of a parked car and asked for help.

McCulloch was subsequently charged with section 18 wounding with intent and possession of a knife in a public place. Following an incident in police custody, he was also charged with assault by beating of an emergency worker.

Following his appearance at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on November 9, McCulloch, now of Ash Grove, Desborough, but formerly of Corby, was remanded in custody until December 21, when he appeared at Northampton Crown Court.

At this hearing McCulloch pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in a public place and assault by beating of an emergency worker. However, he denied the offence of wounding with intent.

The case was adjourned until April 22, and on the opening day of his trial, McCulloch pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of Section 20 – wounding/inflict grievous bodily harm without intent, which the court accepted.

At the hearing, McCulloch was sentenced to a total of 31 months imprisonment and ordered to pay a surcharge of £228.

McCulloch has previously been jailed for 23-months for his part in an attack in Corby town centre.

The attack took place on April 27, 2020, during lockdown. Sean, along with his mum Caroline, confronted two people on a bench. Sean McCulloch lunged at one of the victims with his knife while his mum swung her baseball bat at them several times, appearing to hit one of the victims, who later declined to give police statements. One received a cut to his stomach.

He then went on the run and threatened police officers with a syringe.