'I could see he was not going to be satisfied unless I was dead'

A knifeman stabbed a stranger over 32 times as he walked home from work in a frenzied and unprovoked attack. Michael Canning brutally attacked the victim in an alleyway in Urmston in June last year.

The 22-year-old semi-pro footballer and model was walking home from work when Canning, 23, unexpectedly grabbed him in a ‘chokehold’ before stabbing him with a knife. He could not count the number of blows because there were so many, Manchester Crown Court heard.

He thought he had around 32 wounds and described feeling his lungs getting tighter. “I could see he was not going to be satisfied unless I was dead,” the victim said.

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The victim ‘pretended to be dead’ by closing his eyes, before Canning fled the scene and hid the clothes he was wearing, including a high vis jacket, in a bin bag later found by the police.

The dad-to-be was rushed to hospital where he was in theatre for around 9 hours. He suffered multiple stab wounds to his body including a laceration to his lung and liver.

Canning, of Trafford, initially denied the attack in a police interview. Following a trial in December last year, he was found guilty of attempted murder.

Helen Longworth, prosecuting, said that on June 19 last year at around 5pm, the victim had finished work and was walking home when he called his fiancé, telling her he was going to pick up some sweets for them to have whilst watching a film that evening.

As he went down an alleyway, he saw a person, later confirmed to be Canning, coming towards him.

“The defendant grabbed him in what was described as a ‘chokehold’ and he saw himself being stabbed in a frenzied attack with a knife,” Mr Longworth said.

“Mr Canning did not stop