Man pleads guilty to attempted murder of woman he believed worked at GCHQ
A man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder after launching a knife attack on a woman he believed worked at GCHQ.
Joshua Bowles pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to punching and stabbing the woman at a leisure centre three miles from the UK intelligence agency’s Cheltenham base on 9 March.
The 29-year-old was charged with attempted murder, as well as assaulting a man, causing him actual bodily harm, after an investigation by counter-terrorism police.
Bowles, of Cheltenham, targeted his victim, who is referred to in charges only by the code number 99230, because he believed she worked at GCHQ and represented the state.
He was armed with two knives when he launched the attack at about 9.15pm as the woman left the leisure centre, in Tommy Taylors Lane, with a friend. The victim was taken to hospital after suffering multiple stab injuries in the attack.
More details soon …