'Die Motherf*****': Crazed neighbour stabbed line dancer and wife with Rambo hunting knife 'because they tidied up his flat while feeding the cat 'By Simon Tomlinson
PUBLISHED: 16:27, 29 January 2013 | UPDATED: 17:53, 29 January 2013An elderly line dancer and his houseproud wife were stabbed in a Rambo-style revenge attack by a crazed pensioner who went berserk over them cleaning his flat.
Retired salesman Nigel Gibbs, 66, and his 67-year-old wife Marjorie had agreed to look after neighbour Sean Tierney's pet cat while he attended an air show.
But former soldier Tierney, 66, was furious when he returned to his home in Llandudno, Wales, to find the couple had thrown some mouldy food out of his fridge, emptied the cat litter and did some vacuum cleaning.
When he heard Mr Gibbs doing some DIY with a power saw at his flat next door, Tierney grabbed a combat knife and stabbed his neighbour in the chest in a vicious ambush.
As Mr Gibbs attempted to escape, Tierney who was said to have 'staring eyes like a zombie in a film', then ran into the victim's home and repeatedly stabbed Marjorie as she dialled 999 for help.
An operator who fielded the call could only listen in horror as Mrs Gibbs screamed for her life whilst Tierney shouted: 'die motherf******!'.
The devoted couple who had just moved to the Welsh seaside town after living in California for 15 years were rushed to hospital fighting for life and were said to be lucky to survive the attack.
Later when Tierney was arrested and interviewed, he told police how he had been 'wound up' by Mr Gibbs who was nicknamed 'Tex' by friends due to his stint in the U.S.
He told officers: 'It had to happen, he won't give up creating problems for me, mechanically sawing deliberately without informing me of all the noise, so he's just a wind up, so he had to go.'
'Like a zombie': Former soldierSean Tierney was furious when hefouind out the couple had thrown some mouldy food from his fridge, emptied the cat litter and vacuumed his house
'Like a zombie': Former soldierSean Tierney was furious when hefouind out the couple had thrown some mouldy food from his fridge, emptied the cat litter and vacuumed his house
Today, as Tierney began a life sentence after admitting attempted murder, Mr and Mrs Gibbs who have since quit their home vowed to put the attack behind them by telling one another every day how they much loved each other.
'We are both positive people and wish to put the incident behind us, but the attack has affected our confidence,' they said in a statement.
'We would not like Sean Tierney to be able to inflict such pain on any other person and we will not let him ruin our lives. We both feel lucky to be alive.'
The couple who have been together for 46 years were said to have been a 'caring and lovely' couple who often helped their neighbours with gardening and housework.
Mr Gibbs formerly of Oswestry, Shropshire worked as a salesman for a telecoms company in Saudi Arabia before moving with his wife to California in 1986.
He worked for a car firm in Newport Beach and later at garage door company in Los Angeles. It is believed he retired in 1990 and the couple returned to the UK in February last year and moved into the flat in Ffordd Dulyn, Llandudno.
Initially the couple were friends with Tierney who lived in the flat above but trouble began in August last year after they agreed to look after his cat while he went away to an air show and he returned to find his home had been tidied.
Mold Crown Court was told Tierney, who was dismissed from the military when he was in his 20s, had 'got it into his head that his neighbours were interfering or changing his way of life.' and 'snapped'.
Mr Gibbs was using the power saw outside the apartment block when Tierney suddenly put the combat knife to his face and told him: 'I'm going to teach you a lesson' before he stabbed him in the chest.
He tried to flee the attack but Tierney then aimed for Mrs Gibbs's throat as she was inside her flat calling for help.
She put her right arm up to protect herself described how she almost lost her hand. She escaped by jumping out of a bedroom window and was bleeding profusely from the wounds to the chest, wrist and abdomen.
After the attack Tierney left a phone message for a friend in which he told how he had 'just killed those two bastards downstairs' before being arrested by armed police following an hour long siege of his flat.
Mrs Gibbs is still awaiting further surgery, and said her life will never be the same again.
Screamed for her life: Mrs Gibbs was repeatedly stabbed by Tierney as she dialled 999 for help
Screamed for her life: Mrs Gibbs was repeatedly stabbed by Tierney as she dialled 999 for help
She had three stab wounds to her right breast, one to her abdomen, a very deep wound to her right wrist and a wound to the thumb.
She underwent emergency surgery on her liver and a major wound which went through her diaphragm and penetrated the chest and lung.
In a victim impact statement the couple said loved socialising, especially square or line dancing and had planned to take up ballroom dancing.
But since the knife attack Mrs Gibbs had not regained the movement in her right hand. She told how she had a visible deep scar across the wrist and took 20 tablets a day for the pain.
She was conscious of the scars she had all over her body, from the actual knife wounds and the surgical intervention which saved her life.
'Every day I feel the pain and the trauma of the stabbing,' she said. 'I had always been such a strong person but I am now living on my nerves.'
She is now unable to wash her hair herself, dress walk or dance. She struggled to sleep and sometimes witnessed her husband having nightmares.
Scene: Tierney went berserk after returning to his house (red door, far right) to find the couple had cleaned
Scene: Tierney went berserk after returning to his house (red door, far right) to find the couple had cleaned
Her husband said that he suffered nightmares and flashbacks and relived being stabbed and running for his life.
Mr Gibbs who suffered a badly damaged right lung was not able to walk upstairs without losing his breath and they could no longer go dancing. It had affected his confidence and he was now more introverted.
He had suffered a lung infection at Christmas and annual lung capacity tests showed that his lungs had deteriorated by some 20%.
Their lives had changed dramatically and he was now constantly looking after his wife, who had been severely affected. He suffered nightmares and flashbacks and relived being stabbed and running for his life.
Tierney must serve a minimum of 15 years before being considered for parole. Judge Merfyn Hughes QC told him: 'You destroyed your victims' lives.
'They will never regain the happy days that they had been enjoying in their retirement until these dreadful events'.
After the case, Det Insp Iestyn Davies of North Wales Police said: 'Sean Tierney stabbed Mr and Mrs Gibbs for no apparent reason and it is due to their strength and determination, together with the skill of the medical staff that they have survived.
'Tierney armed himself with a combat knife with the intention to kill Nigel and Marjorie and very nearly achieved his aim.
At the time of the attack one neighbour Wendy Jones, 44, said: 'They are such lovely
people who were out to help anybody. They have done so much for me and this is so sad.
'We are all just in shock about what has happened. I have cerebral palsy and cannot drive so they have given me lifts and just recently took me to buy a digital camera because I was going on holiday to visit a friend.
'They have also cooked meals for me when I have been feeling low, they have done so much. They really looked out for me and other people on the estate, they are very caring people. They got on with everyone and would not hurt a fly.'
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