Rebekah Campbell, 32, begged for life after a frenzied knife attack

 A woman begged a police officer, “am I gonna die?”, after she was stabbed 18 times in what prosecutors called a “sustained and violent assault” inside her home, a murder trial has heard. Rebekah Campbell, 32, collapsed outside Knowsley Heights in Huyton, Merseyside, after telling neighbours: “My fella stabbed me.” She later died in hospital.

Her boyfriend, 34-year-old Michael Ormandy of Linacre Road, Litherland, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of murder. He denies the charge, claiming he acted in self-defence.

Opening the case, David McLachlan KC told jurors that on the late evening of 15 April 2025 Ms Campbell was speaking on the phone to her friend Faye Henderson when the conversation was abruptly shattered. Henderson heard Rebekah shout something like “go away, get out Mick”, followed by a loud bang and puppies barking. The line then went silent. Alarmed, Henderson dialled 999 and rushed to the flats. When she arrived around 15 minutes later, Rebekah lay on the ground outside, being treated by police and paramedics for multiple stab wounds. She was taken to Aintree Hospital but was pronounced dead at 12.46am on 16 April.

Neighbours reported hearing Rebekah cry “I’ve been stabbed” as she emerged from the building. One looked out to see her collapse, her yellow tank top soaked in blood. Inside the ambulance, Rebekah asked, “am I gonna die?”, to which an officer replied: “You are hurt, but you are in the best place now.”

Ormandy was arrested six minutes before her death, initially on suspicion of attempted murder, the jury heard. He allegedly told officers, “this wouldn’t have happened if you did your job last week,” referring to a previous altercation between the couple during a night out days earlier.

The court heard the pair had been together for around four months, but friends said the relationship was deteriorating and Rebekah was ready to end it. Friend Josh Collins described a pattern of friction, alleging the defendant would call her a “slag” or stand and stare at her at the bar. He said he had seen them arguing and pushing before. On 12 April, while out drinking, Rebekah allegedly threw a shoe at Ormandy and slapped him; later that night there was a second heated incident in which she was seen “kicking out” before he struck her to the face.

CCTV captured Ormandy entering Rebekah’s building on 15 April while she was on the phone. Henderson did not recall any mention of a planned visit. Shortly afterwards, the line went quiet. Cameras then recorded Ormandy leaving the flats before Rebekah appeared outside, wounded and pleading for help.

A Home Office post-mortem found 27 incised wounds: 18 stab wounds and nine slash wounds. The pathologist concluded they were consistent with “severe force” and identified injuries on Rebekah’s left arm as defence wounds. The cause of death was recorded as stab wounds to the chest.

In interviews, Ormandy gave a series of prepared statements. He said that during the 12 April incident “everyone was drunk” and claimed Rebekah slapped him, prompting him to “strike out in self defence” when she attacked again. Of the night of her death, he alleged Rebekah immediately screamed “I’ve got a knife” on his entry, that he saw a knife in her right hand, disarmed her, and that she remained on top of him “attacking” him. He said he punched her “to her body in self-defence” and pushed her onto the couch. He later told detectives he wore gloves after the incident because he had “blood p***ing out of his hand”. A mobile phone was recovered from a canal after he allegedly tried to ditch it.

He further suggested that if police had arrested Rebekah on 12 April, “there would have been no further incident” leading to what he claims was self-defence. He said he had been staying at her flat for two-and-a-half weeks at her request and held a spare key. Of Henderson, he told officers: “Faye is jealous of us because she spends more time with me than she does with her.”

Prosecutor McLachlan told the jury: “When you put all of the evidence together, the finger points fairly and squarely at him, Michael Ormandy, as being responsible for murdering Rebekah Campbell. This was not, and never could be, self defence.” He argued the number and severity of wounds showed a clear intent to kill.

Ormandy, represented by Nick Johnson KC and Daniel Travers, denies murder. The trial before Judge Andrew Menary KC continues and is expected to last around two weeks.