Two brothers convicted of attempted murder after a knife attack have been sentenced to 23 years.
Simon Trigg, 33, and his brother Christopher Trigg, 36, denied the charge but were found guilty by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday following a two-week trial.
The pair, who had admitted grievous bodily harm, were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court today, Wednesday, July 12, and will serve half of their sentences in prison and the remainder out on licence.
The trial was told how the brothers carried out a sustained knife attack on victim Kevin Skye in Hafodyrynys during the early hours of December 27 last year.
Mr Skye was walking home with his fiancée after visiting family and friends on Boxing Day. The pair decided to call in at the Hafodyrynys Inn on their way home at around 11.30pm.
A fight is said to have broken out near the pub’s toilets between Simon Trigg and another man when Mr Skye stepped in as a peacemaker.
The two brothers left the pub threatening to get knives and “slit everyone’s throats”.
The jury were told how their mother said she was woken in the early hours of the morning by noises coming from the kitchen. Prosecutors said this was the brothers getting knives.
A witness saw one of them carrying a 7cm blade kitchen knife, while another reported seeing them stab Mr Skye to the head and stomach.
Mr Skye suffered multiple stab wounds and was taken to the University Hospital of Wales after his fiancée had called 999. He arrived at the hospital at 4.50am and went straight into emergency surgery with life-threatening injuries.
Simon Trigg, from The Glyn, and Christopher Trigg, of no fixed abode, were arrested by police at their mother’s house at around 4.30am that same day.
Jason Howells of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The defendants made a choice to arm themselves with a kitchen knife and carry out a vicious, sustained attack.
“Thankfully, the treatment administered by friends at the scene and the attending paramedics made a crucial difference to Mr Skye. That early intervention, combined with emergency surgery, saved his life.
“Gwent Police consulted the CPS early in this case, and our teamwork throughout the investigation and court process lead to an effective prosecution, which despite the denials of each defendant, resulted in the jury convicting them both.”