A former Countdown champion has been ordered to be detained in a psychiatric hospital for an indefinite period after he stabbed a rival contestant at a fan convention in a terrifying incident.
The Convention Attack
John Cowen, 31, from Morecambe, entered the Wainwright Social Club in Blackpool, Lancashire, on September 14, 2024, where a gathering of the Focal Countdown Group was taking place.
Preston Crown Court heard that Cowen walked into the venue holding a kitchen knife and went straight for fellow champion Thomas Carey, stabbing him in the upper arm.
Judge Guy Mathieson described the event as a terrifying incident of deliberate violence with a knife which could have caused far more serious injury and possible lethality.
Court Proceedings and Mental Health Assessment
Cowen was arrested at the scene and charged with wounding and two counts of possessing a bladed article in a public place.
However, earlier this year, Judge Mathieson ruled that the defendant was unfit to stand trial due to mental illness. A subsequent fact-finding hearing saw a jury determine that Cowen had committed the act of wounding as charged.
The court heard that Cowen, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, had never offered a clear explanation for the attack. It was tentatively suggested that he held discontent over the use of an app by some convention attendees, but the victim, Thomas Carey, was at a complete loss as to why he was targeted.
Indefinite Hospital Order Imposed
At the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, Judge Mathieson imposed a hospital order under Section 37/41 of the Mental Health Act.
The judge stated that Cowen's attitude towards treatment remained hostile, making community-based monitoring ineffective. He was satisfied that Cowen was suffering from a mental disorder of such a nature that detention in hospital for medical treatment was appropriate.
Cowen, who appeared via videolink from Guild Lodge psychiatric hospital in Preston, showed no reaction to the decision. He will also be subject to a restriction order, meaning his discharge would require the consent of the Secretary of State for Justice.
John Cowen had previously appeared on Countdown in 2017, achieving the third-highest total of his series and winning eight consecutive episodes before being defeated.
