£5.5M Lottery Winner’s Partner Pleads Guilty to Her Attempted Murder

A British man has pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of his lottery-winning partner.

Stephen Gibbs
An official escorts Stephen Gibbs into Cardiff Crown Court on Monday, above. Gibbs changed his plea to guilty after arriving at a court. (Image: BBC)

Stephen Gibbs, 45, was told by a judge in Cardiff Crown Court to expect a lengthy sentence for his attack on Emma Brown, who won £5.5 million (USD $7.6 million) playing the UK National Lottery four years ago.

According to court filings, police were called to the home Gibbs shared with Brown in Barry, South Wales, on the night of January 30 this year after Brown made an emergency call.

They found Brown had been attacked with a knife and had stab wounds to her face, arms, and stomach. She was taken to the University Hospital of Wales, where she required plastic surgery, although she has since made a full recovery.

Gibbs initially denied attempting to kill his partner of 11 years and was due to go on trial Monday. But he changed his plea to guilty.

The judge adjourned sentencing, pending psychiatric reports. Gibbs is next due in court on Oct. 8.

The High Life

Brown quit her job as a deputy manager at an aircraft company after her lottery win, according to The Metro. After, she enjoyed lavish vacations in Spain and Portugal. The couple moved to an expensive detached house.

She was known in the town for giving generously to local charitable causes, according to The Daily Mail,

The couple got together shortly after Gibbs was released from prison following a six-year sentence for another knife attack. On that occasion, the victim was an 11-year-old boy.

Judge: Gibbs is a ‘Danger to Society’

In the original trial, the court heard that Gibbs had recently split with the victim’s mother, whom he could not forgive for ending their relationship.

In February 2005 the woman drove her son to Gibbs’ house to retrieve a pair of gym shorts. As she waited outside, she saw Gibbs emerge from the house holding a knife covered with blood, according to court documents.

“You get in here – you’d better see this. You are going to suffer,” he told her.

Gibbs had stabbed the boy five times.

According to court filings, another witness heard him shout: “It’s your fault. I told you this would happen.”

Gibbs later tried to commit suicide by stabbing himself and then jumping from a multi-story parking garage. He survived, but was in intensive care for three weeks, having sustained multiple fractures and the loss of a kidney.

The judge, in that case, called him “a danger to society.”

Philip Conneller
Philip Conneller Senior Reporter

In Philip Conneller’s eight years with Casino.org, he has covered the gaming industry from Las Vegas to Macau and everything in between. He currently focuses his coverage on gaming law, white-collar crime, global money laundering, tribal gaming, politics, and regulation.

Philip was the original features editor for poker’s Bluff Magazine and editor for Bluff Europe, which he helped launch. His writing has also been featured in ESPN, Forbes, Time Out, The Sun, and The Daily Star, as well as iGaming Business, eGaming Review, and numerous other industry news and tech websites.

His news stories for Casino.org/news have been linked by The Washington Post, The Daily Mail, People Magazine, and Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show, among many others.

Philip once won $20,000 with 7-2 off-suit. He has been reprimanded for unwittingly playing Elton John’s piano on two separate occasions on both sides of the Atlantic.

He became a writer because he is a lousy pianist.

Philip lives outside London with his wife and children, where he spends his time agonizing about Arsenal FC.

Contact Philip at philip.conneller@casino.org.

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