A man who stabbed a mother and son following an ongoing dispute has been jailed for 12 years.

Michael Marucci, 48 and of Burleigh Road in Bournemouth, was sentenced at Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday 26 February 2019, after previously being found guilty following a trial at Winchester Crown Court of two counts of wounding with intent. The jury found him not guilty of attempted murder.

As well as being sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison, he was made subject to a restraining order relating to both of his victims for a period of ten years.

At around 7.30pm on Friday 10 August 2018 the 23-year-old male victim was at home with his girlfriend.

They saw Marucci storming toward their property and he subsequently burst in through the front door.

The victim hurried to the hallway where he saw Marucci gripping a craft knife in his hand. He was extremely angry and making threats toward the victim.

The victim shouted at him to leave but Marucci ignored him. He tried to push Marucci back to get the knife away from him but the defendant resisted this and slashed him to the neck and then across the chest, causing a 30cm wound. The victim also sustained a stab wound to his arm during the struggle.

The victim’s mother, who was alerted to screaming coming from the hallway, called the police for help. She remained on the phone to the police during the incident and could be heard screaming ‘get off, get off, he’s got a knife, he’s got a knife’.

She put herself in front of the victim to try and protect him and received a stab wound to her arm in the process.

Marucci continued to make violent threats during the attack, which could be heard on the 999 call. Despite being told to leave numerous times, he refused shouting: “I won’t get out. I will cut your throat now.”

Eventually the victim and his mother managed to break free and retreated to a bedroom of the house, where they attempted to stem the bleeding from their cuts.

Officers arrived and Marucci was arrested outside his home and a subsequent search of his address was carried out. An orange-handled craft knife was located inside a kitchen drawer, which was seized by the crime scene investigation officer.

Both victims were taken to Poole Hospital for treatment to their stab wounds. The male victim required over 30 stitches to a large slash across his chest and the wounds to his neck and arm. The female victim required seven stitches to the cut on her arm.

After hearing the mother read out her own victim personal statement during the sentencing hearing, Judge Timothy Mousley reflected that the effect on her and her son had been extreme and had changed their lives, adding that the young man may never fully recover from what Marucci did. He praised the younger victim for his courage in giving evidence and for his actions during the incident.

Detective Constable Steph Ashworth, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Michael Marucci armed himself with a bladed weapon before he carried out a sustained violent attack on his victims, causing very serious injuries which will leave lasting physical and mental scars.

“He clearly intended to cause his victims serious harm and I would like to thank them for supporting the prosecution case and giving evidence. I hope the sentence handed out by the court sends out a very strong reminder about how seriously knife crime is viewed.”