Marie Claire UK Marie Claire UK
  • Fashion Fashion
      • Fashion
        • View all Fashion
        • Fashion Trends
        • Shopping
        • Watches and Jewellery
        • Fashion News
  • Beauty Beauty
      • Beauty
        • View all Beauty
        • Fragrance
        • Hair
        • Make Up
        • Skincare
        • Nails
        • Marie Claire Beauty Awards
  • Health Health
      • Health
        • View all Health
        • Fitness
        • Nutrition
        • Female Health
        • Wellbeing
  • Life Life
      • Life
        • View all Life
        • Opinions
        • Travel
        • Sustainability
        • Weddings
        • Money & Work
        • Competitions
  • Culture Culture
      • Culture
        • View all Culture
        • TV and Film
        • Celebrity News
        • Books
        • Royal News
  • Vouchers Vouchers
      • Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Mint Velvet
        • Karen Millen
        • H&M
        • nobody's child
        • ASOS
        • ARKET
        • MANGO
      • Designer Clothing
        • View all Vouchers
        • Reiss
        • THE OUTNET
        • SSENSE
        • Mytheresa
        • Liberty London
        • Selfridges
        • Farfetch
      • Accessories
        • View all Vouchers
        • AllSaints
        • Aspinal of London
        • Charles & Keith
        • River Island
        • FitFlop
        • Kate Spade
        • Vagabond
      • Jewellery
        • View all Vouchers
        • Pandora
        • Abbott Lyon
        • Goldsmiths
        • Beaverbrooks
        • Astrid & Miyu
        • Swarovski
        • Angara Jewellery
      • Beauty
        • View all Vouchers
        • Sephora
        • Cult Beauty
        • Space NK
        • Dyson
        • Clarins
        • Look Fantastic
        • Clinique
      • Activewear
        • View all Vouchers
        • Lululemon
        • Gymshark
        • Sweaty Betty
        • Nike
        • adidas
        • New Balance
        • Helly Hansen
  • NEWSLETTER Signup to our newsletter
  • logoCreated with Sketch.
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Women in Sport 2026
    • Marie Claire Masters
    • Spring Summer 2026
    • Nail Trends 2026
    • Best Investment Bags
    • Best Perfumes
    • Digital Issues
    • Women Who Win
    1. Celebrity News

    Abigail Witchalls has given birth to third child

    She was left for dead after being stabbed while walking with her toddler son, but brave Abigail Witchalls battled against the odds and is now celebrating the birth of her baby girl.

    By Kasie Davies
    Published 17 June 2010 In Features

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    Abigail Witchalls has given birth to a baby girl
    Abigail Witchalls has given birth to a baby girl
    (Image credit: PA Photos)
    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    She was left for dead after being stabbed while walking with her toddler son, but brave Abigail Witchalls battled against the odds and is now celebrating the birth of her baby girl.

    Doctors said she had little chance of survival after being brutally stabbed in the neck by a stranger in broad daylight, but brave Abigail Witchalls refused to give up.

    Now, five years on since the attack, the 31-year-old has incredibly given birth to her third child and his celebrating the good news with her husband Benoit and their two sons, Joseph, six, and Dominic, four.

    ‘They are really well and really happy,' said a close friend. ‘The baby is fit and healthy and everyone is over the moon.'

    It was April 20, 2005, when Abigail decided to take her toddler son, Joseph, for a walk in the leafy village of Little Bookham and her attacker struck. She was pregnant at the time.

    She was brutally stabbed in the neck, the blade severing her spinal chord and leaving her paralysed. At the time, doctors feared she could die within two days.

    But Abigail continued to fight, and for the next six months she remained on a ventilator with a tracheotomy to allow her to breathe in the Spinal Injuries Unit at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital in Stanmore, Middlesex.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    Since then, she has regained fluent speech and recently described her survival as a ‘miracle'.

    Abigail's attacker is thought to have been Richard Cazaly, a 23-year-old public schoolboy who was reported to have been high on alcohol and drugs.

    He killed himself eight days after the attack through a fatal overdose. Police confirmed that he would have been charged with attempted murder if he hadn't committed suicide.

    CLICK HERE FOR MORE BREAKING WORLD NEWS

    Kasie Davies
    Social Links Navigation
    Latest in Celebrity News
    Olivia Rodrigo performing on stage in a babydoll dress that sparked online debate, later prompting the singer to speak out about the sexualisation of girlhood and double standards facing young women.
    Celebrity News “We Really Normalise Pedophilia in Our Culture”: What Olivia Rodrigo's Babydoll Dress Backlash Reveals About Girlhood
    Meghan Markle in 'With Love, Meghan'
    Celebrity News Meghan Markle’s Sweet Glimpse Into Sussex Family Life Is Going Viral
     
     
    Anne Hathaway attends the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2
    Celebrity News Anne Hathaway Has Spoken Out About Her 10-Year Health Battle
    The Prince and Princess of Wales visit the Isles of Mull and Iona
    Royal News Royal Experts Predict a Major Milestone From Princess Kate This Autumn
     
     
    Latest in Features
    The Beauty Digest
    Beauty The Beauty Digest: Head Spas, Coco Mademoiselle Reimagined, and What the TPO Ban Really Means
    The long hair trend and the post-bob era
    Hair I’ve Spent Two Years Growing My Bob—Turns Out, There's a Reason Long Hair Is Trending
     
     
    @nlmarilyn in transitional autumn outfits
    Fashion Goodbye Summer Dresses, I'm in Autumn Outfit Planning Mode—These 5 Are Fresh
    AW26 denim trends listing
    Fashion Autumn's Denim Trends Are Already Surfacing—Here Are the Cuts, Colours and Details to Know Now
     
     
    logoCreated with Sketch.
    • Site Archive
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Terms and conditions
    • Advertise with us
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • About us
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire UK is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.