Huntingdon prepare knife rampage suspect ‘slashed man within the face’ a MONTH in the past – as police re-open investigation they closed by textual content after simply 48 hours

Police are to reopen a case in which a taxi passenger’s face was slashed by a knife-wielding stranger – after witnesses said they were convinced the attacker was the same man held for the Huntingdon train rampage. 

Ricky Butcher needed 15 stitches to a slash wound to his face after being attacked at random in September by a man he now believes could have been accused train attacker Anthony Williams.

If confirmed, this would increase growing speculation that last weekend’s train rampage might have been prevented.

The attack happened just over a month before the train attack on Saturday night in which ten people were stabbed, some critically.

Mr Butcher was set upon seemingly at random as he waited for a minicab home after a night out in Peterborough on September 27.

But to Mr Butcher’s astonishment it was just two days after the terrifying attack that he received an SMS from Cambridgeshire Police – the same force now holding Williams – saying they were closing the case as there was insufficient evidence to make an arrest likely.

The 36-year-old electrician described to the Daily Mail how the man he believes to be Williams lunged at him with a kitchen knife – swiped at his neck but missing and instead slicing the inside of his lip.

He was taken to hospital, where he had 15-stitches – but only after giving a statement to police.

However, just two days after the attack in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire Police sent him a text message informing him that they were unlikely to find the culprit and were closing the case.

Mr Butcher said today: ‘It’s absolute madness the police closed my case so quickly without seemingly having a proper trawl through CCTV and making the relevant inquiries.

‘I think the police should have treated my case with much more importance and diligence- had they done so then there probably wouldn’t be people fighting for their lives in hospital.

‘I feel bad for all the other victims, who like me have trauma from this happening. The police could have stopped him a few weeks ago instead people’s lives are now changed forever with the events that played out on that train.

‘I really hope someone is held accountable for their actions and the victims of every incident are looked after and protected with any issues they have from the trauma and injuries from this attack.’

Mr Butcher had been out for a few drinks with his father-in-law and friends in Peterborough and had booked an Uber home from The Fletton Club around 8.30pm on Saturday September 27.

He said a man had walked towards him from the other side of the road and was being followed by a couple in a car after he had apparently attacked them moments earlier.

He said: ‘This guy looked a little confused so I shouted out to him ‘are you ok mate?’

‘He then came towards me and as he did so a car screeched to a halt behind him and someone shouted out ‘watch out he has a knife’.

‘As they said that he swung at me, aiming for my throat, but I instinctively moved my head back and he missed.

‘But as he swung the knife upwards it caught the inside of my lip. Within seconds blood was pouring from my mouth.

‘I initially thought it was a punch and because I was in shock I just looked at him as he stared back at me and I started laughing.

‘I don’t know why – perhaps he thought I was a nutter – but he turned and sprinted off down the road.

‘A friend of mine chased after him but we stopped him because we didn’t want anyone else being hurt.

‘I only saw that he actually had a knife as he was sprinting away. I was taken to hospital and had 15-stitches

‘My mouth is still sore and slightly numb today.

‘The police turned up and took statements from me and several eyewitnesses and retrieved CCTV from the club.

‘But they can’t have done much else – not check for other CCTV or doorbell cameras – because on the Monday I got a text message from Cambridgeshire Police informing me they were closing the case and giving me a crime reference number.’

The police have now apologised and have re-opened the investigation following the attack on board the LNER service from Doncaster to London Kings Cross on Saturday night, he said.

He went on: ‘My father-in-law complained the following weekend but nothing was done – until this week following the events on board the train.

‘Officers have come back to see me and have taken a statement again. I believe I was attacked by the same man who is accused of stabbing the train passengers.

‘After slashing me, he ran off down Langford Road, where he is believed to have been living.’

Williams, 32, is accused of boarding the train at Peterborough and walking from carriage to carriage stabbing ten passengers. Two people are still in a critical condition.

Williams appeared before Peterborough Magistrates Court on Monday charged with 11 counts of attempted murder.

He is accused of attempting to kill a man after a passenger was stabbed at Pontoon Dock Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station in east London shortly after 12.45am on November 1.

It is alleged the victim suffered facial injuries after being attacked with a knife.

Hours later, Williams is accused of going on a knife rampage on the high-speed 6.25pm LNER service from Doncaster to London, where he is accused of attempting to murder 10 other people.

He is also facing two charges of possession of a bladed article on both the train and at the DLR station in London, and of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

CCTV footage emerged earlier this week allegedly of Williams apparently bursting into a barber shop in Peterborough last Friday evening and waving around a kitchen knife.

Police have said they are investigating other incidents to see if they are connected to Williams, including the stabbing of a 14-year-old boy in Peterborough on Friday.

Brave rail worker Samir Zitouni, 48, remains in hospital in a stable but ‘critically unwell’ condition following the train attack.

He is understood to have grabbed a frying pan from the galley kitchen and put himself in harm’s way to save people’s lives.

Passengers ran through the carriages, barricading themselves in toilets and behind shutters in the buffet car during the attack.

One passenger, Stephen Crean, received six stab wounds as he fought the knifeman with his fists.