Ex-boyfriend cleared of knife attack

Ex-boyfriend cleared of knife attack

Jul 25 2003

South London Press

By Court Reporter

A JILTED boyfriend accused of a savage knife attack on his love rival walked free from a court.

Mauritian-born Stephan Gerofle, 21, had denied stabbing pal Paul Moonsamy so hard that the blade lodged in his skull.

Mr Gerofle, from Bromfelde Road, Stockwell, was cleared of attempted murder and wounding with intent by an Old Bailey jury after claiming he had been at a friend's in Kennington on the night of the attack.

The court heard Mr Moonsamy lived with lover Mari Lou Ferrer and their two-year-old son in Castle-combe Drive, Wandsworth.

Ms Ferrer had a brief relationship with Mr Gerofle, but had moved back with Mr Moonsamy.

On October 24 last year, the couple were returning home in the early hours when a hooded figure stepped from the shadows. Mr Moonsamy was repeatedly smashed in the head and body but managed to break free and run to his flat.

The attacker followed and pulled a knife from his pocket, stabbing Mr Moonsamy several times in the face, head and upper body.

He was taken to hospital, where surgeons removed the knife blade from his skull, the court heard.

Despite Mr Moonsamy identifying Mr Gerofle, the defendant had maintained: "I wasn't there. It had nothing to do with me."

The jury accepted his defence that the victim could not have properly identified the hooded attacker.

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