Man who tried to homicide girl with chainsaw thought he was Jason from Friday the thirteenth movie
Cray Allen became obsessed with the horror film Friday the 13th and attacked a woman with a chainsaw believing he was masked killer Jason Voorhees
Cray Allen believed he was the masked killer from the Friday the 13th slasher franchise(Image: Metropolitan Police/SWNS)
A horror fanatic attempted to murder a woman with a chainsaw after becoming convinced he was the masked slasher from the Friday the 13th movies. Cray Allen, 40, went on a terrifying rampage with the power tool in the belief he was movie monster Jason Voorhees, a court heard.
In a chilling twist of fate, Allen was actually born on Friday the 13th. He had obsessed over the cinematic killer, even purchasing Jason’s infamous hockey mask and using the slasher’s image as his WhatsApp profile picture.
Woolwich Crown Court heard that Allen snapped on Friday, June 13 last year while staying at the Anahita Recovery Centre in Lee, south-east London.
The victim woke shortly after midnight to find the defendant standing at the foot of her bed, chainsaw in hand, with what she described as an “angry and evil” expression on his face.
He called her a “b***h” before “going at her with the chainsaw”, causing injuries to her hands, arms and face, until another resident intervened to halt the attack.
Allen was sentenced to a hospital order on Monday with special restrictions after a jury found him guilty of attempted murder.
The court was told that Allen was suffering from psychosis with auditory hallucinations at the time of the attack.
In the days leading up to the incident, his mother contacted the local community health team expressing concerns that his mental health was deteriorating and that Friday the 13th was approaching.
Despite this, Judge Christopher Grout said no measures were taken to mitigate the risk.
Allen bought a battery-operated chainsaw from Argos days prior to the assault and entered the facility with it undetected, the court was told.
Judge Grout said: “All the residents at this facility, for obvious reasons, are vulnerable and [the victim] was particularly vulnerable, asleep in her bed in an environment where she should have been safe. Instead, she was the victim of the most horrendous attack.
“Putting aside the ease with which Mr Allen was able to purchase a chainsaw, how was he able to take it unnoticed into the centre, and how was he able to gain access to her room and enter with the chainsaw, again undetected?
“The only reason this incident didn’t result in more serious injuries or death was because another resident intervened, rather than anybody who worked at the facility.”
The court learnt that the facility investigated what happened, though the findings of the inquiry were not shared with either the police or the sentencing judge.
In a statement, the victim said: “I’m traumatised by the incident and I’m reminded of it every time I look at my hands as they are covered in scars.
“I really felt like he was going to kill me in that moment and I do not know what would have happened if I was in a deep sleep.”
When Allen was detained, he informed police he had witnessed lightning strikes in the sky and heard voices that instructed him the victim had been angering God.
He claimed he had been chosen by God to punish the woman, just as Jason punished characters in the movie franchise.
Allen admitted to grievous bodily harm but rejected attempting to murder the woman, though a jury convicted him at trial.
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Osman Hussain recommended the public would be better safeguarded with Allen receiving treatment in a hospital rather than in prison.
Judge Grout, who described the incident as “like the plot of a horror movie”, sentenced Allen to a hospital order with special restrictions. The order means he will remain in hospital as long as is deemed necessary.
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