Why it matters: The attack occurred in the victim's own home when she encountered Mallett, a stranger, on her stairs. He stabbed her eight times in the neck, face, hands, shoulder and leg before she managed to fight him off and escape.
The details: Mallett was found guilty on Tuesday, 23 September 2024, following a trial lasting just over three weeks. He must serve at least 20 years of his prison sentence before he is eligible for parole.
The attack occurred on Saturday, 7 December last year, when officers were called to Admiral Road in Pinewood at just before 16:55 to reports of a burglary during which a woman sustained stab wounds.
The victim, a woman aged in her 40s, reported that she was upstairs at her home when she heard a noise downstairs and went to investigate. She encountered Mallett on the stairs – he was not previously known to her.
The victim described seeing Mallett pull a knife from the side of his body before he lunged forward, stabbing her eight times. She managed to fight back and believes she got him off her by kicking out and causing him to stumble down the stairs, where he fell into a piece of furniture.
The victim then ran out of her house to seek help from a neighbour. She saw Mallett run away in the direction of Ellenbrook Park.
She was taken to hospital where she was treated for her injuries and subsequently discharged later that night.
What happened next: A short time after the attack, police officers conducting searches in Ellenbrook Park were approached by a man who claimed he had just been the victim of an attempted knifepoint robbery.
The officers asked the man for his name, and he said it was Elliott Mallett. He was wearing a grey zip-up jacket and dark-coloured trousers and said he had lost his coat during the incident.
When officers accompanied him home, he was met by two other officers who – treating him at this stage as a potential victim – seized his grey zip-up jacket and took swabs of his hands. Mallett began to visibly shake during this process.
The evidence: Whilst officers searched the park, they located a bottle of Olay moisturiser and a pair of Apple earphones, both of which matched the description of items the victim said were missing from her gym bag.
Back at Mallett's home, officers began to obtain his statement for being a victim of the alleged robbery. Discrepancies began to appear between the account he was giving and the information he had provided to officers in the park.
The senior investigating officer made the decision that Mallett should be treated as a suspect as he appeared to be falsifying his evidence.
In the early hours of Sunday, 8 December, officers re-attended Mallett's home and arrested him. Officers were then able to seize his phone and search his house.
Key evidence included:
Doorbell camera footage from his front door showed he had left the house at 15:45 on the Saturday afternoon, wearing all black clothing, including a black puffer jacket and his hood up, partially covering his face. This matched the description of the suspect provided by the victim.
A member of the public found a knife in Swallowtail Close, approximately a four-minute walk from the victim's house. The knife was engraved with 'Maggi Soups,' and research into this brand found them to be rare and vintage. A pin badge was found next to the knife, which matched the description of one the victim said was missing from her gym bag.
Officers searching Mallett's home found a knife in a kitchen drawer, also engraved with 'Maggi Soups'.
A footwear mark found at the victim's home matched the trainers Mallett had been wearing.
Analysis of Mallett's phone found that at 18:19 on the day of the attack, he had messaged a friend saying that "something had happened" and that he "had almost got stabbed and some woman got stabbed as well and put in hospital". None of the officers Mallett had spoken to had explained the nature of the victim's injuries to him, and no information had been released to the media at this stage.
The analysis of Mallett's phone also pinpointed its location as being in the victim's house at 16:48, just minutes before the 999 call was made. He told the court that the man, who he had alleged robbed him must have taken the phone to the victim's house, and he then found it later in the park.
Mallett was charged with attempted murder on Monday, 9 December last year and made his first court appearance the following day. He had pleaded not guilty to the offences, but the jury found him guilty of both counts by unanimous decisions.
What they're saying: In her victim personal statement, the victim said that "the day I was attacked in my own home shattered everything I knew about safety, trust and stability".
She went on to describe how her life has been "consumed by trauma", that she suffers with flashbacks, feels constantly on edge and has "withdrawn from people she loves".
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Adams, the senior investigating officer, said: "It is exceptionally rare for someone to be physically attacked in their own home by a stranger, especially with the level of violence used by Elliott Mallett.
"Having armed himself with a large kitchen knife Mallett entered this house as a trespasser. He clearly intended on stealing from within the property but when confronted by the victim he made a conscious decision to go up the stairs towards her and he then embarked on a ferocious and senseless attack of violence, stabbing her multiple times.
"Mallett could have easily fled the address without confronting the victim, but chose to attack her instead. I dread to think how this would have ended have had it not been for the strength and courage of the victim who bravely fought back against her armed attacker."
Detective Constable Alice Gaffer, the officer in the case, said: "Elliott Mallett subjected the victim to a terrifying ordeal in her own home – the one place everyone should have the right to feel safe and secure.
"The victim demonstrated incredible bravery in fighting him off and then managing to escape to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm. It is a miracle her physical injuries were not more serious given the size of the knife she was attacked with."
DCI Adams added: "He has shown no remorse for his actions, and his deliberate attempts to mislead police and the court through his far-fetched alternative version of events failed miserably. He will now have many years in prison to consider his actions on that day and the lasting impact they have had on the victim."
The bottom line: The attack has left lasting scars on the victim, who said her life has been "consumed by trauma" and that she has "withdrawn from people she loves" – ultimately forcing her to move away from the area so she could feel safe again. Mallett will serve at least 20 years before being eligible for parole.
