Man Jailed for Life After Hammer Attack on Cardiff Masseuse

A brave masseuse fought for her life when a client launched a vicious hammer attack at her Cardiff business.

Connor Probert, 26, from Penygraig, Tonypandy, booked a massage at Royal Orchid Thai Massage in Cardiff on February 17 last year, arriving with a hammer concealed in his backpack.

Orawan Thomas was alone at the parlour when Probert launched his unprovoked assault. Cardiff Crown Court heard the massage passed without incident, but when Ms Thomas turned her back, Probert grabbed her from behind and struck her head with the hammer.

Ms Thomas saw Probert holding the weapon “raised at shoulder level as if he was ready to strike again” and thought she was going to be killed. The attack continued as she struggled and screamed, with Probert then strangling her until she nearly lost consciousness.

“She described everything going black and thought she was dead,” prosecutor Thomas Stanway told the court.

The victim cleverly asked for water, causing Probert to release his grip momentarily. When her son and daughter-in-law arrived, she managed to escape whilst Probert hid in the bathroom until police arrived.

Ms Thomas suffered three head wounds requiring stitches and soft tissue injuries to her neck and hands.

In her victim statement, Ms Thomas said: “I genuinely believed he was going to kill me and feared for my life for the duration of the time I was in that room… I am scared to go out alone and being alone in general. The anxiety this has caused me makes me feel in fear. I feel like someone is always following me because I was attacked from behind and now I am checking over my shoulder to check if anyone is there.”

She added: “I believed this man wanted to kill me, I don’t think he wanted to take my belongings or harm me sexually. He spent 20 minutes torturing me mentally and physically. I believe it was a pre-meditated attack and his only thought was to kill me.”

Probert pleaded guilty to wounding and inflicting grievous bodily harm, intentional strangulation, and possession of an offensive weapon. When asked why he carried out the attack, he said he couldn’t explain his actions and was shocked by them.

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, the Recorder of Cardiff, noted that whilst Probert had been diagnosed with autism, this did not play a part in his offending. She said: “You are devoid of any victim empathy and you said you couldn’t be sure an incident to this type wouldn’t happen again.”

Probert was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of four years and two months, minus time served on remand. He was also made subject to a lifelong restraining order.