Man jailed for attempted murder of woman in Cheltenham
A man has been jailed for life for the attempted murder of a woman outside a leisure centre in Cheltenham in March this year.
Joshua Bowles, 29, previously pleaded guilty to attempted murder on 30 August at the Central Criminal Court.
The victim was a US national employed by the National Security Agency of the USA. At the time of the attack on 9 March 2023, she was working at GCHQ.
Bowles also previously admitted one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm after he assaulted a man who intervened during the attack.
Today at the Central Criminal Court, Bowles was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 13 years.
Nick Price, Head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said: “This extremely violent attack against two innocent people was completely unprovoked.
“It is right that those who commit violent crimes like this should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law to protect the public, and our thoughts continue to be with the victims and their families.”
Notes to editors
- Joshua Bowles, [DOB:19/11/93] is of Welwyn Mews, Cheltenham.
- He pleaded guilty to one count of attempted murder and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm at the Central Criminal Court on 30 August 2023.
- On 30 October at the Central Criminal Court, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 13 years for attempted murder and six months for the assault occasioning actual bodily harm to be served concurrently.