Bicester woman found guilty of murder after stabbing boyfriend to death in 'vicious attack'

Bailey Heywood, of no fixed abode, was convicted of murder at Oxford Crown Court today (September 13).

The conviction relates to the murder of 45-year-old Dale Bond, who was killed at his home earlier this year.

Oxford Crown Court heard how, at around 12.20pm on March 13, police received a phone call from a member of the public reporting that a man had been injured.

Details of who the member of the public believed to be the attacker were also passed on to Thames Valley Police officers.

Officers then rapidly deployed to Mullein Road, where they found Dale Bond in the lounge of the flat he lived in, with several stab wounds.

The attending officers provided emergency treatment, and paramedics from South Central Ambulance and the Air Ambulance provided specialist emergency medical treatment.

However, despite the efforts of the police and the ambulance crews, Mr Bond was sadly pronounced dead at the scene due to the serious nature of his injuries.

While the emergency services battled to save Mr Bond’s life, officers were deployed to an address in Bicester, where they arrested Bailey Heywood.

Heywood was found at the address with her clothing covered in blood and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of murder.

Following the arrest, an investigation was launched by the Major Crime Unit, and a post-mortem confirmed that Mr Bond’s death was caused by a stab wound to the chest.

This led to Heywood being charged with one count of murder. The 23-year-old will now be sentenced at Oxford Crown Court on Monday (September 16).

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Will Crowther of the Major Crime Unit said: “My thoughts firstly go out to the family and friends of Mr Bond, who have lost a much-loved son, father, brother, uncle, and friend.

“Dale’s life was taken at the hands of Heywood. The jury completely rejected Heywood’s account that she was acting in self-defence, and there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Mr Bond attacked Heywood.

“The precise motives for the murder remain unclear to this day and Heywood is the only person who could tell us, but she has chosen not to, instead claiming self-defence.

“We know that Heywood went to see Mr Bond, who she was in a relationship with, and when he least expected it, she subjected him to a vicious attack, stabbing him. One of the blows caused an un-survivable wound to his chest. Heywood left Mr Bond for dead and was arrested shortly after when we were alerted to the incident.

“I would like to pay tribute to the family of Mr Bond, who have been supportive throughout our investigation and have acted with dignity during the court process. I hope that the conviction of Heywood will help them to move forward.”