A judge has criticized police for releasing a man on bail who had threatened to kill his accuser, days before he was found with a large kitchen knife and made further threats. Martin Edwards, 41, was arrested in March 2026 on suspicion of rape. While in custody, he allegedly stated he would find the accuser and "chop her into little pieces" and "bury her."
Despite these threats, Edwards was released on bail. Shortly afterward, he armed himself with a large kitchen knife and went to an address, reportedly intending to attack the woman. A former soldier living nearby intervened, calmed Edwards, and disarmed him before contacting police. The court heard there was a 24-hour delay before officers attended the scene to recover the weapon.
Judge Simon Mills, the senior circuit judge in North Wales, expressed strong disapproval of the police decision. "There seems to have been a wholesale failure in this case," Judge Mills stated. "I can't understand how this man came to be released from custody, having said he was going to murder a person who was alleging rape. What did he do? He went around, within a short time of making those threats in a police station, with a knife."
The judge commended the former soldier, calling him "very public-spirited" and noting he "quite possibly saved the target of Mr Edwards' behaviour from serious harm." The former soldier subsequently filed a formal complaint regarding the delay in police response, citing concerns about reliance on emergency services in immediate threat-to-life situations.
Edwards, who has a history of 36 previous offenses including violence, pleaded guilty to making death threats, affray, and possession of a knife in public. His defense counsel mentioned he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, which affects his perception of being slighted.
Sentencing Edwards to three years and eight months in prison, Judge Mills also added five years to his license period and imposed a 15-year restraining order, describing him as "very dangerous." The judge emphasized the need for protection for rape complainants and demanded assurances from North Wales Police that such a situation would not happen again. No further action was taken regarding the original rape allegation, the court was told. North Wales Police were approached for comment.