Son of ex-Arsenal and Wales footballer jailed for 33-punch attack on retired detective

Joni Hartson, 22, punched former royal protection officer Dawn Lloyd 33 times on a hospital ward, leaving her with a brain bleed. He was jailed for two and a half years.

Former footballer's son jailed for brutal hospital ward attack on retired detective

Joni Hartson, 22, the son of former Arsenal, Celtic and Wales striker John Hartson, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after punching a 67-year-old retired detective 33 times, leaving her with a bleed on the brain. BBC.co.uk reports that Cardiff Crown Court handed down the sentence on Thursday.

The victim, Dawn Lloyd, a former royal protection officer and detective with 17 years' service in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, was a patient on the same mental health ward as Hartson at the Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. She had been admitted to Bryngofal Ward while suffering from confusion caused by an autoimmune condition.

On 18 October 2024, Hartson lured Miss Lloyd into the back garden of the ward before attacking her. He later told officers: "I led her outside and told her to stand still and punched her ten times to the head." The court heard he had admitted after the assault: "I wish I had killed her."

Prosecutor Alex Orndal told the court there were approximately 33 strikes during the attack, adding: "Miss Lloyd is described as not doing anything other than raising her arms to protect herself in that footage."

Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, who sentenced Hartson, described the assault as "planned and premeditated." She said: "You selected Miss Lloyd because you could see that she was vulnerable. You used those vulnerabilities to select her as a target. You deliberately chose someone who would quite obviously be unable to resist."

In a victim impact statement, Miss Lloyd's sister described her as having "served diligently and with compassion," noting that she had been regularly called upon to work with the royal protection team and later served as an office manager on the Queen's Jubilee.

Interim ward manager Hannah Cox told the court that Miss Lloyd's "demeanour has completely changed" since the attack. She had become anxious, fearful of loud noises such as slamming doors, and was unable to form coherent sentences — though she was heard to say: "He's not going to hit me again."

The court also heard that days after the initial attack, Hartson punched a healthcare worker in the arm after being transferred to a hospital in Carmarthen.

Hartson, who is autistic and was in hospital at the time due to suicidal thoughts — but had not been sectioned — had no prior diagnosis of psychosis. His defence counsel Owen Williams said Hartson was experiencing depression and "possible hallucinations which were commanding in nature" at the time of the offences.

Hartson pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm and assault of an emergency worker.

Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)