A MAN who stabbed his ex-partner 15 times in a 'terrible and frenzied' attack has been jailed for life.

Jordan Anderson tried to murder his victim Aleah Masih after she had gone to pick up their daughter in Headington on the afternoon of March 12 this year.

The knife attack, described by prosecutors as 'brutal and ferocious', took place while their five-year-old child clung to her mother's hand outside the London Road Co Op.

As the 30-year-old of no fixed abode was jailed at Oxford Crown Court this morning he repeatedly muttered 'no' from behind the dock and at one stage said 'I was not there at all'.

Leaving the dock to begin his life term he called out 'it is what it is.'

Anderson had denied one count of attempted murder but a jury found him unanimously guilty on Thursday, having already admitted wounding, having an offensive weapon and stalking.

Sentencing him today, presiding Judge Peter Ross called the sustained knife attack 'terrifying'.

He said: "She [the victim] was utterly terrified and every time you advanced upon her she retreated.

"She said nothing, did nothing and it was that which provoked what then took place.

"It was the most terrible and frenzied attack upon her with a knife [...] in broad daylight, in the middle of the afternoon, in a public area and in the presence of small children leaving their school that day.

"But it began with your daughter holding [victim] Aleah Masih's hand.

"So the first stab wounds were rained down upon Aleah while [her daughter] was holding her hand, it is one the most truly terrible aspects of this case that a five-year-old child witnessed that at close quarters."

During the trial jurors were told that in the months before the attack Anderson had stalked his victim - with whom he had been in a relationship for some six and a half years - on social media and via e-mail.

As part of what the judge called a 'campaign' of abuse Anderson sent her threatening messages, included one threat that he would stab her.

He also threatened to send intimate pictures of her online.

On the morning of the attack prosecutors said that Anderson had sent her numerous e-mails that day demanding a meeting, and after Ms Masih raised the alarm to police she was assured they would visit her.

That alarm apparently came too late as at about 3pm she was stabbed a total of 15 times, including once in the spine, once in the neck, as well as five times to the head.

She was also stabbed in the hand which prosecutors said was an attempt to 'protect herself' from the 'raining blows' as members of the public looked on.

The court heard she was lucky to still be alive after the attack.

Earlier in the case jurors heard Ms Masih recall the incident in which she said Anderson ran up to her and began asking if she was sleeping with anyone or if she was pregnant.

She said that another woman who was nearby then intervened and Anderson told her 'she is my baby mum' as the victim began backing away from him.

Describing the ensuing onslaught moments later she said: "I didn't think he was stabbing me at first, I thought he was just punching me in the arm.

"I think he was trying to get to my neck, I was just closing into myself."

Detailing the moments after he had left the scene and with the violence over she said: "I just remember looking up and my daughter was screaming and crying and I remember telling her I was OK.

"I could hear her saying mummy, screaming, and when I looked up she was crying."

Anderson also took to the witness box last week to deny trying to kill his victim.

He said he wished he could turn back time and said recalling the incident made him feel 'absolutely horrible'.

He also claimed that he could not remember most of the attack or inflicting 15 stab wounds on his ex-partner.

In mitigation at today's hearing defence barrister Philippa McAtasney QC called the attack 'shocking and unforgivable' but said her client was remorseful.

Anderson was jailed for life with a minimum term of 13 years and seven months and will be on licence if he is released for the rest of his life.

He was also made subject to a restraining order against his victim and his two children and must pay a victim surcharge.

Speaking after the sentencing hearing Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Sarah Berry thanked the victim and witnesses.

She added: “Anderson’s actions could easily have killed his victim, and it is only perhaps through luck that this did not become a murder investigation.

“I would also like to praise the quick action and assistance of the members of the public who rushed to aid the victim, and I know that she would like to thank these individuals as well. They could not have done more.

“Anderson is a dangerous and violent man and I am pleased that he has received a significant custodial sentence.”

Thames Valley Police was approached for comment on their actions between the time a complaint was made by Ms Masih on March 12 and the eventual stabbing.