Stella Gollovena, 47, has appeared in court after being charged with four counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm following a stabbing incident in Covent Garden on Wednesday.
Gollovena, of no fixed address, faced the charges for the first time at Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court on Thursday afternoon. She was also charged with one count of possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, according to the Metropolitan Police.
Incident details
The court heard that police were “flagged down” in Endell Street, a busy tourist area filled with bars, theatres and restaurants, at around 12.25pm by one of the injured victims. He and a second man reported being stabbed, before the suspect was chased and Tasered.
Police took statements from four men who were treated in hospital for stab wounds to their backs. A fifth person said at the scene that they had also been stabbed but did not want to give a statement to police.
Alleged weapon and court proceedings
It is alleged that Gollovena had a pair of scissors – also described as a “pair of shears” – on her when she was arrested. Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram remanded Gollovena in custody until the next hearing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on September 3. Gollovena spoke to confirm her identity but did not enter any pleas to the charges.
Officers were called to reports of a stabbing on Endell Street at around 12.30pm on Wednesday. An air ambulance helicopter landed on Trafalgar Square, but London Ambulance Service, which was called out at 12.29pm, later said it had “treated four patients at the scene and took them all to a major trauma centre as a priority by road”.
The Met said the four men – aged 34, 39, 42 and 56 – had stab wounds but have since been discharged from hospital as their injuries were not deemed life-threatening or life-changing.
