Killer waited in undergrowth to stab tragic mum 50 times

ATTACKER HAD BOUGHT KNIVES FROM SUPERMARKET

- AMY WALKER

A MAN stabbed a complete stranger 50 times in broad daylight, a jury had found.

Michelle Hodgkinson was walking down Edge Lane in Droylsden in June last year when she was brutally attacked by Paul Hughes.

He had earlier gone into Asda, bought a pack of knives for £6, then waited on the bridge for somebody to walk past 'for him to attack!

As Ms Hodgkinson, 51, walked past, he attacked her with the largest of the knives, before throwing it over a fence and walking home.

Hughes, 30, is accused of the unlawful act of killing Ms Hodgkinson, and was facing a finding of fact trial at Minshull Street Crown Court after he was found unfit to stand trial.

Jurors were told that following a hearing on November 22, it was concluded that Hughes was at the time of the attack, and currently is, suffering from schizophrenia. He did not participate in the trial and has remained at a maximum security prison since his arrest last year.