'He was a timebomb set to blow'
KNIFE attack victim Michelle Sarvent yesterday spoke of her 'absolute joy' that the two men who tried to kill her are now facing life jail sentences.
As the 'guilty' verdict against Darren Roberts came in late yesterday morning, Michelle heaved a huge sigh of relief as the Guardian broke the news to her.
"Ever since it happened I have been worried sick and frightened to death that he might get off," she said.
"At least Lee Snell admitted trying to kill me, but there was always the chance that Darren Roberts might be found not guilty and then come after me."
"Now I feel I can sleep easy again. I only hope the judge puts them away for life."
Michelle, 21, – who has now started rebuilding her life at a new home in Prospect – spoke of her 'relationship from hell' with Lee Snell.
She even feared back then, as a young 17-year-old, that he might be 'the death of her'.
And on Tuesday 30th September last year, her prediction almost came true when Snell burst into her Larwood Avenue home and plunged a 20cm kitchen knife into her chest.
Michelle split from him three years ago – at the same time their daughter Lauryn was born – but she refuses to accept his claims in court that she kept him from seeing his child.
Michelle, a dental nurse now living in Prospect, told the Guardian: "He got caught up in drugs while we were together, and I didn't want my daughter to be mixing with those kind of people."
"I wouldn't let her go up to his house because there were needles there, and I wouldn't let him see Lauryn on his own or take her overnight. But he was always able to spend time with her as long as someone was there to keep an eye on him."
Michelle and Snell began a relationship when she was 16-years-old, and Snell was 25, and at first, she says the relationship was good.
But Snell's dark side soon began to show and he became violent towards her, even attacking her while she was pregnant, at the age of 17.
She separated from Snell when Lauryn was born, prompting him to launch a catalogue of intimidation, mindgames and threats against Michelle and her family.
Snell even bought his toddling daughter a battery-operated toy Jeep, only to later snatch the gift back from the confused tot, claiming he no longer wanted to see her.
"You can't buy a young child something like that and then take it back off her, that's just sad. I can't even think why an adult would take a toy away from his own flesh and blood. But that's the kind of length he would go to," Michelle said.
"Obviously, he was just trying to get at me, but I can't see how he can think a three-year-old child can take that in and understand it."
Just a matter of days before Snell's senseless attack, he vowed to kill Michelle – a promise she said she had no choice but to take at face value.
"You always took things seriously with Lee. I think if he hadn't done this to me, he'd have done it to somebody else. He was a timebomb ready to go off," she said.
But on that fateful night when Snell barged into her home with Darren Roberts, Michelle's first reaction was not shock - she did not think her former partner would attack her while his own daughter was asleep in the house.
Little did she know that he thought his daughter was staying with her grandmother, and had arrived with the intention of murdering Michelle in cold blood.
And as she ran from the house in a blind panic, she did not even notice the broken knife stuck in her chest.
Michelle's sister Sarah, who had heard Snell barge in over the phone, came to the house to rescue Lauryn.
Michelle spent three weeks in hospital recovering from Snell's drunken attack. A police guard kept a vigil by the door, but with her attacker on the run, she still could not relax – and remains on her guard even to this day.
"It was so scary, and I was petrified for Lauryn's sake. I was nearly dead, and I had pulled the knife out of my own chest. When I came out of hospital he was still on the run," she said.
Michelle has lost her gall bladder, a quarter of her liver, and had received a gash to her left kidney - and though she felt relief when Snell was finally arrested, she says she will not know complete peace of mind until her attacker is sentenced.
"In his heart, he always wanted a family, but he's a very mixed up person. When he was nice, he was a top lad, but as soon as he turned nasty, that was it," she said.
"When I left Lee, I always said he'd be the death of me one day. You can't treat what's wrong with him with medication – he's just a bad person."
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