Joanna Wenton says she was ‘just starting to get her life back on track’ but is now back ‘at rock bottom’
20:03, 27 Jun 2025Updated 20:04, 27 Jun 2025
Lewis Tucker(Image: Merseyside Police)
A thug told a victim of the Manchester Arena bombing “I’m going to be a terrorist” before battering her in her own home. Lewis Tucker “snapped” and repeatedly punched and kicked the woman as she lay stricken on the ground, having earlier threatened to burn her house down.
While she was “just starting to get her life back on track” seven years on from the explosion which killed 22 innocent people during an Ariana Grande concert, she is now “at rock bottom” once again following the “worrying and terrifying” assault. She has meanwhile branded her attacker a “danger to society”.
Liverpool Crown Court heard today, Friday, that Joanne Wenton was at her home on Stonehill Street in Anfield at around 3am on March 28 this year when Tucker, of nearby Oakfield Road, knocked on her window and asked to be let into the property. This was said to have been a “regular occurrence”, with the mum “usually looking out for” the 20-year-old.
Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, described how the defendant then sat on her sofa talking with her for the next 30 minutes before he “suddenly snapped” and said: “You’re all going to be dead. I’m going to be a terrorist now, and I’m going to burn your house down.”
This was said to have been a reference to Mrs Wenton having been a victim of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. The ECHO previously reported that the then 45-year-old was knocked unconscious and hit with shrapnel during the bombing, having taken her 13-year-old daughter and a friend to the gig.
Tucker was then said to have ran to the kitchen and armed himself with a knife before repeatedly punching her. Despite his mother having attended the property in an attempt to halt the attack, he continued to kick Mrs Wenton to the head and body after she had fallen to the floor.
The attack was eventually brought to a stop “after some time”, but Tucker then began “smashing up” the house. This rampage saw him break the victim’s TV, rip out her fireplace, smash a number of drinking vessels and throw a traffic cone through her front window before he was arrested a short time later at his mum’s house.
In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, Mrs Wenton, who works as a cleaner, said: “There are no words to describe what’s happened. I’m a bag of nerves.
“The next morning, I got up to go to the toilet and just dropped to the floor. My daughter heard a bang and saw I’d collapsed. She said I looked like I was having a seizure or something. I’ve never had anything like this before. They said I collapsed as I had severe concussion.
“I have post traumatic stress disorder as I was a victim in the Manchester bombing. I was just starting to get my life back on track, now I’m at rock bottom. I feel like I’ve lost control of everything.
“I was the only one who gave him the time of day. I feel really silly and naïve. I shouldn’t have looked out for him like I did. I shouldn’t have given him the time of day. I feel so stupid. I’m terrified. He’s psychotic. He’s really, really dangerous, not just for me but for society.”
Tucker has a total of 13 previous convictions for 31 offences, including wounding and attempted robbery. Charles Lander, defending, told the court: “Cleary, this was a worrying and terrifying incident. The defendant is fortunate that the complainant did not suffer more serious injuries.
“The defendant was suffering from a relapse of psychotic symptoms. He has been diagnosed as suffering from post traumatic stress disorder and ADHD, and is also likely to have an ASD diagnosis. The defendant had a very difficult upbringing. He is clearly someone who spent a large part of his childhood in various care homes.”
Tucker admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and criminal damage. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey t-shirt and sporting mid length brown hair, he was jailed for 16 months and handed a five-year restraining order.
Sentencing, Recorder Louis Browne KC said: “You asked her for money, but, when she refused, you launched a violent attack on her. Your mother attended, attempting to stop you. However, you did not stop. When you did eventually stop, you smashed up her property.
“It is rightly described as being a worrying and terrifying incident. I have very carefully read the psychiatric report. It highlights the difficulties you faced in your childhood, which I have had full regard to. So far as your antecedents are concerned, in view of your young age, they are troubling.
“There was a sustained, persistent and prolonged assault. In my view, this was a very serious offence committed under the influence of alcohol, which is an aggravating feature.”
While Tucker’s custody picture appeared to show him wearing a Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service polo shirt, it is understood that he has never been employed by the organisation. His mum appeared to be in tears as she left the courtroom following the hearing and remarked: “I thought, when you were in court, you had to tell the truth.”