An attack on an elderly woman in Chipping Norton yesterday has been upgraded to attempted murder, police announced this afternoon.
A woman in her 70s was rushed to hospital with stab wounds shortly after 5pm in a life-threatening condition, after emergency services were called to a house in Hailey Avenue.
She is in a stable condition at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital and a police scene watch is in place at the home in Chipping Norton.
Police had labelled the incident a Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) assault yesterday, but announced just after 1pm they are now treating the attack as attempted murder.
A 44-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of GBH yesterday but was re-arrested on suspicion of attempted murder today.
Local police area commander for Cherwell and West Oxfordshire, Kath Lowe, said: “This appears to be an isolated incident, however there are officers in the area today and if anyone has any information or any concerns please approach and speak to an officer or call our 24-hour enquiry centre on 101.”
Senior Investigating officer Detective Inspector Larry Johnson said: “I would like to appeal to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at around the time of the incident, or anyone who has any information, which could assist enquiries to speak to police.
“A woman has sustained serious injuries and detectives are investigating to establish the circumstances.”
