A soldier has been jailed for 16 years for kidnapping and attempting to murder a friend and fellow member of the armed services who had begun seeing his estranged wife.
John Watson, 35, ambushed James Dicks, a member of the Household Cavalry, as he left the woman’s home in Windsor in May last year. He secured Dicks’ hands with cable ties, forced him into his car, tried to wrap clingfilm around his face and attacked him with a knife.
At Reading crown court, the judge Angela Morris said: “It seems to me there are two John Watsons. The John Watson who was a devoted family man and the disciplined soldier who served his country with honour and bravery, and then there is the other John Watson, the one who allowed himself to become consumed by anger, jealousy, rage and murderous intent.”
Watson and Dicks had become friends when they were stationed together at Combermere Barracks, near Windsor. Both were married at the time but their respective relationships broke down and Dicks, 28, and Watson’s estranged wife, Lynsey Watson, began seeing each other.
Dicks told the court how he had feared for his life during the attack. “I heard my name being called – it was John,” he recalled. “He was briskly walking towards me … brandishing a knife.”
Dicks refused Watson’s initial demands to put his hands through cable ties, and the pair grappled, the court heard. After Watson told him he would slash his throat if he did not follow his instructions, Dicks allowed himself to be bound with the cable ties in the back of Watson’s saloon car.
Watson drove to a layby and produced the clingfilm. Dicks said: “When I saw the clingfilm, I started to panic. I knew I had to do something about it. I had to get out of the car. I was obviously fearing for my life.
“I noticed when he was attempting to peel back clingfilm he wasn’t paying attention, so I leaned back and kicked him. It connected. He fell backwards and in turn the cable ties from my feet snapped, so my feet could move.”
Dicks said his ankles remained tied together but he was able to get out of the car. “He [Watson] came behind me with the roll of clingfilm. He tried to wrap my head in the clingfilm. It touched the left side of my face, my nose and my mouth. It was tight – when I breathed in, the clingfilm went inside my mouth. I knew I had to stop it because he was going to kill me otherwise. I took one last breath then pulled my hands from the cable ties and they managed to break.”
Dicks said Watson again produced a knife and forced it against his chest. Alerted by neighbours, two police officers with Tasers arrived on the scene and prompted Watson to let go of the knife.
