Sandra Mckenzie says she felt ‘the life going out my body’
A former 90s pop star who was stabbed 49 times by a convicted wife-killer and neighbour has spoken out about the horror attack and how she lives with a daily reminder of it.
Sandra Mckenzie, singer with 90s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ hitmakers Goldbug, says she thought she was going to die when Stephen Allum forced her into his back garden by her throat before repeatedly knifing her.
Allum was jailed for life last year after he admitted attempted murder, a sentence that came 23 years after he was given a hospital order for killing his wife.
McKenzie said the attack, which took place in Oxford in January last year, “was absolutely terrifying”.
“He was strangling me and I just felt all the life going out my body,” the 63-year-old said, adding: “I was absolutely terrified. I thought I was going to die.”
Allum lived next door to McKenzie’s Littlemore property. The former singer said she initially “got friendly” with Allum who she would meet in the garden “when we went for a cigarette”.
“He invited me around for dinner but I kept putting it off,” McKenzie recalled. But on 24 January last year, Allum invited her to his flat and she accepted.
“The minute I went round he grabbed my throat and pulled me out to the back garden and took me out, got me on the ground,” McKenzie said. “He was strangling me, punching my face. He kept stabbing me in the chest.”
Allum stabbed McKenzie 49 times, leaving her bedridden for eight months. She now gets around on a walking frame and feels pain if she puts any weight on her legs. Police, McKenzie said, described the incident as “the most vicious attack they’d ever seen”.
McKenzie is now desperate to be moved from her flat in Morrell Crescent by Response Housing partnership, which owns the apartment.
“When I go out my front door I relive [the attack]. I see him standing at his door,” said Mckenzie, who first moved to Oxford 34 years ago but has suffered periods of homelessness since.
“I’m still in the same house. I have flashbacks. I want to be moved but they’re doing nothing to find me a flat or house.”
In a joint statement, housing provider Response and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust said patient confidentiality prevents it from “discussing the detail around this case”.
“However, we can say that patients who live on the Response Recovery Campus, which offers 24/7 intensive supported living, are under the care of qualified mental health practitioners and clinicians and that regular risk and safeguarding reviews take place.
“Following this attack, a serious incident review was carried out. The service user was involved in this and supported throughout all processes.
“She remains engaged with services and has access to round-the-clock help. If the service user has any concerns about the care she has received or is receiving, we encourage her to talk with her care team to see if any additional measures can be offered as she continues with her recovery journey.”
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