A HEARTBROKEN mum broke down in tears as she admitted wishing she’d killed the neighbour who murdered her partner with a crossbow.
Appearing on This Morning today, Laura Sugden – who was five months pregnant at the time – bravely told her story about the horrific attack that cost her unborn child’s dad his life.
Deranged neighbour Anthony Lawrence lay in wait for Laura and her boyfriend Shane Gilmer after breaking into their home through a shared loft in January 2018.
He then ambushed them as they returned home from a date at an Italian restaurant.
Lawrence fled the scene and was found dead from an overdose of painkillers in a camper van two days later on the A170 near East Layton, North Yorks.
Host Phillip Schofield said to Laura: “You say you wish you’d killed him yourself.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed.
“There’s no justice. There wouldn’t have been any if he’d survived because I don’t think prison would have been enough. It certainly would have left me unsettled forever.
“But I would have felt something more if I’d been able to put that bullet in him at the time.”
Laura, now 30, has since given birth to two-year-old Ella, who has “healed something” in her heart.
“She’s incredible,” said Laura.
The grieving mum is now campaigning for tighter regulations around crossbows, which can easily be bought online for around £150.
“There’s no regulations to have a crossbow, none whatsoever,” she said.
“That’s what my campaign is for to get it to parliament to get the same regulations as a shotgun.
“They’re just as fatal and have ruined families. There’s not really a purpose for a crossbow to be had.”
“Please, please sign my campaign. I need 100,000 signatures.”
Moved by her story, an emotional Holly Willoughby said: “It feels a very reasonable request for something which has utterly destroyed your family.”
Former jailbird had Lawrence previously threatened council housing officer Shane, 30, with an axe after the couple protested about his loud music.
And Lawrence was being evicted after they had complained to the landlord about cannabis fumes and suspected plant growing.
Laura survived being shot in the head with the crossbow, but Lawrence fired at Shane through his right forearm and into his abdomen, damaging his liver and a kidney before embedding in his spine.
Shaking with fear, Laura ran downstairs before running 200 yards to a neighbour’s house for help after Shane told her to save their unborn baby.
“His last words were ‘be strong, I love you. Get out to save the baby'”, said Laura on the ITV show.
Shane managed to make it downstairs and call 999 and an inquest in Hull last week into his death heard him tell the operator: “I love my children… Oh my God I really, really wanted this baby, I really wanted it. I feel like I’m fading. I’ve lost so much blood.”
In Britain, no licence or registration is needed to own a crossbow.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans (free) on 116123 or 020 7734 2800.
