Psychiatric detention: Mother of boy stabbed 18 times in 2010

David Martin lost his left kidney after his mother stabbed him 18 times on November 4, 2010.

Martin, 25, said the attack occurred on the day of a court hearing to determine if he would be placed in foster care. His mother, who has not been named, told him she would rather kill him than let social services take him away. Martin said she called his school, claiming he was sick, before attacking him in the family home in South Gloucestershire.

The court accepted a plea of guilty to attempted murder. The judge described the stabbing as repeated and violent, noting the mother aimed to take Martin’s life. Following psychological assessments, she was detained indefinitely in a psychiatric facility rather than sentenced to prison. Martin spent 42 days in the hospital, where he received an emergency blood transfusion and underwent surgery for injuries to his stomach, liver, and limbs.

Martin claims social services ignored warning signs between 2006 and 2010. His father contacted authorities in 2006 due to his mother’s deteriorating mental health and drug use. Martin said he was placed in temporary care in October 2010 but returned home after a few days. He stated that if he had remained in care for two additional weeks, the attack would have been avoided. A serious case review concluded that better coordination between adult mental health and children’s services could have prevented the stabbing.

Martin reconnected with his mother when he turned 18 in 2023. Social services arranged the meeting, but Martin said he felt numb and later cut her out of his life. He said he has forgiven her to move forward. His mother said she felt backed into a corner by South Gloucestershire Council and that the events torment her daily. A council spokesperson said the serious case review was completed over a decade ago and remains unpublished to protect those named in it.

Martin now works as a civil servant. He said he manages his post-traumatic stress disorder through therapy and physical activity.