How Kaitlin Jones survived teen’s Black’s Beach stabbing attack

As he frantically knifed a beautiful stranger on a remote Queensland beach, a deranged teen believed he was living out a “kill” fantasy but his brave victim and hero tradies had other plans.

Kaitlin Jones (right) was almost stabbed to death on Blacks Beach in Mackay before being helped by tradies Paul Ferdinand who rang 000 and Gav Odgaard gave first aid.

Kaitlin Jones had gone to the beach for “solace and peace” but the trip to the secluded beach where she planned to sunbake became something from a Hollywood horror movie.

The then 23-year-old hairdresser was targeted by a 16-year-old boy who had spent the previous weeks hunting for someone to kill in other secluded or isolated areas of North Mackay, the Supreme Court in Rockhampton heard this week.

Ms Jones was lucky to have survived the nightmare attack.

The extreme extent of her injuries likely to have caused death if she hadn’t received such immediate medical help.

Medical reports suggest she was just a millimetre from a fatal wound that medical assistance could not have helped.

Ms Jones’s attacker would have seen her minutes after her arrival at Blacks Beach about 11.45am on September 13, 2021, as he stood on the deck at the Pitt Street entrance, facing the ocean.

Blacks Beach (Mackay), 13 Sep 21, Stabbing on the beach at Blacks Beach. Blacks Beach. Photo: Daryl Wright

“As Ms Jones walked past the deck area towards the stairs (to the beach), she noticed (the defendant) standing on the deck,” Justice Graeme Crow said in his sentencing remarks for the teen who had pleaded guilty to attempted murder.

Ms Jones found her sunbathing spot about 69 metres away from the Pitt Street entrance and set up next to a fallen tree close to sand dunes.

Justice Crow said at about 12.10pm, as Ms Jones laid on her back, playing on her phone, she noticed the teen to her right “quite far away and close to the water”.

He said the teen walked past Ms Jones and then out of sight.

A witness walking her child along the beach noticed Ms Jones’ twice, an hour apart, and spotted the teen sitting near the Pitt Street entrance as the witness left, at a vantage point where he could see across the whole beach.

‘SHE JUMPED UP AND STARTED SCREAMING’

They were the only two people on the beach the witness could see when she left.

Later, Ms Jones saw the teen walking towards the Pitt Street entrance with his path to go past her.

“When a couple of metres away from Ms Jones, (the teen) smirked or kind of smiled at Ms Jones,” Justice Crow said.

“Ms Jones looked down and realised that (the teen) had a knife in (his) right hand.

“She jumped up and started screaming ‘no, no, no, no, please, please don’t’.”

He said Ms Jones knew if she was on the ground, she would not escape the attack.

Justice Crow said she jumped away from the attacker, trying to put some distance between them before she started running backwards away from him.

“Ms Jones was hoping there were others on the beach closer to the water however, the beach was deserted,” he said.

Blacks Beach (Mackay), 13 Sep 21, Stabbing on the beach at Blacks Beach. Blacks Beach. Photo: Daryl Wright

The teen followed Ms Jones and once she was within his reach, he stabbed her multiple times.

STABBING WENT THROUGH BREAST IMPLANT

Her injuries included a eight-centimetre long laceration to the left side of her scalp, a 1.5cm laceration to her nose, a small wound to the right side of her neck, a puncture wound to her left breast which went through her implant and into her thoracic cavity, a puncture wound to the right side of her upper chest, two lacerations near her left knee about two cm long.

Stabbing victim Kaitlin Jones, 23, who was stabbed by a stranger multiple times in a horrific attack while she was sunbathing on Blacks Beach.

“She doesn’t remember how she defended herself because it happened so quickly,” Justice Crow said.

“She remembers she put her hands up trying to block (him) from stabbing her and her main aim was to get away.

“She thought he had stabbed her whole face because of the way the pain felt.

‘SHE SAW BLOOD POURING OUT OF HER CHEST’

“She thought he had stabbed her throat, but there was no wound there.

“She recalls being stabbed in the top of her chest area and saw blood pouring out of her chest, like squirting out, and was worried that … punctured her breast implants.

“She thought she was going to die.

“Ms Jones screamed for help during the attack.

“She recalls that (the teen) remained straight faced the whole time and did not say anything to her.”

He said Ms Jones recalled “in the middle of stabbing me, he just turned and walked away” and that he left in a casual walking manner, headed towards apartments nearby.

Covered in blood, Ms Jones grabbed her towel and applied pressure to her wounds before walking down the beach looking for help.

“She was conscious not to run too fast because she was scared she would lose consciousness and there was too much blood,” Justice Crow said.

He said she was too scared to return to her car, fearing the teen was waiting for her there.

TRADIE COULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH BLOOD ON HER

She saw tradies working at a construction site, which was not easily accessed from the beach, and screamed at them for help.

Justice Crow said one of the men was “just staring because he could believe the amount of blood she had on her”.

Kaitlin Jones, 23, begged tradies who helped her after she was stabbed not to let her die.

One of the men called emergency services while the other went down to her and found a route for her to get to the construction site where they put her in a plastic chair and assisted applying pressure to her wounds.

Paul Ferdinand rang triple-0 while Gav Odgaard gave first aid after the Blacks Beach stabbing. Photo: Daryl Wright

She was unable to lean back as it hurt her chest injuries.

SHE BEGGED HELPERS NOT TO LET HER DIE

“Ms Jones begged (the men) not to let her die,” Justice Crow said.

She was able to tell police about what had happened and provide them with a description of her attacker before the ambulance took her to hospital.

Medical investigations revealed she had air pockets in the frontotemporal region of her brain, two collapsed lungs, fluid and blood in the pleural cavities which surround the lungs and the left breast implant ruptured.

Her life-threatening injuries required staples to her active haemorrhage in the left side of her scalp, along with the insertion of tube into her chest to depress gas and bloodletting, and allow the lung to re-expand while the pneumothorax was under pressure.

Ms Jones also received intravenous medicine to combat infection and blood transplants.

She spent five days in hospital following the attack, along with undergoing surgery five months later to replace her breast implants.

“The scars on her chest in intimate areas will be prominent without cosmetic surgical intervention,” Justice Crow said.

Kaitlin Jones: “She thinks of it every day … that someone’s going to try and kill her.”

He said the stab wound to her nose will “result in a prominent scar in a highly visible region on her face”.

Justice Crow said the medical professionals inferred the injuries to Ms Jones’s chest “may have caused death by respiratory failure, significant haemorrhage or a tension pneumothorax before medical assistance could be provided” and the injuries to the left could have injured structures leading to the heart, and “cause death regardless of medical assistance”.

‘SHE THINK SOMEONE’S GOING TO TRY AND KILL HER’

“Although the crime was committed almost two years ago, it still has an impact upon her life,” Justice Crow said.

“She thinks it always will.

“She says the injuries to her body have healed, but mentally and emotionally she hasn’t recovered.

“She’s extremely anxious when alone or in public; constant fear of someone hurting her.

“She thinks of it every day … that someone’s going to try and kill her.”

He said Ms Jones suffers from sleep disorders, high anxiety, mild depression, and multiple panic attacks.

“She thinks she could ever be the same,” Justice Crow said.

Originally published as How Kaitlin Jones survived teen’s Black’s Beach stabbing attack