Man jailed for attempted murder in Cheltenham

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 13 years for the attempted murder of a women in Cheltenham in March.

He previously pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Joshua Bowles tried to kill the woman because she worked for the US government. The attack took place at a leisure centre in Tommy Taylor’s Lane on 9 March this year.

During the sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey, Justice Cheema-Grubb DBE ruled that Bowles was motivated by a terrorist ideology.

Bowles chose his victim because of her job working for the US Government at GCHQ in Cheltenham. Bowles had also worked for GCHQ, but was not working there at the time of the attack.

Four weeks before the attack, he visited the location as part of a reconnaissance in preparation for his planned attack. He had also extensively researched the victim and found that she was due to play netball at the leisure centre on certain evenings. He then planned his attack around that detail.

On the day of the attack, he waited in his car until he saw the victim.

Bowles chased the victim and tried to attack her. A member of the public intervened and sustained minor injuries.

The victim initially got away, but Bowles then followed her into the leisure centre and stabbed her several times.

He then waited for the police to arrive.

The investigation was began by officers from Gloucestershire Constabulary. However, it was taken over by the Counter Terrorism Policing network, where CTPSE took the lead, supported by officers from Counter Terrorism Policing South West (CTPSW) and Gloucestershire Constabulary.

Head of Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE), Detective Chief Superintendent Olly Wright, said: “This was a planned and violent attack on two innocent victims.

“Bowles made comments in his initial police interviews that suggested he had selected his target because of where she worked and our investigation revealed this as the core motive behind this attack. It also underlines the seriousness of this case and explains why officers from Counter Terrorism Policing took on the investigation.

“Despite the valiant efforts of a member of the public, who intervened to help during the first part of the attack, Bowles was undeterred. He went on to stab the victim a number of times, which must have been a terrifying ordeal.

“I do not underestimate the potential long-lasting effects this incident will have on the victim and her family and friends. I hope now that the court proceedings have concluded, she can begin to rebuild her life after this horrendous ordeal.”

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