Ambulance worker said ‘Oopsie’ after trying to kill boss with hammer in row over shifts

Stacey Smith, 46, jailed after launching ‘frenzied’ attack which left manager with life-changing injuries

An ambulance worker said “Oopsie” after trying to kill her boss with a hammer in a row over shift patterns, a court heard.
Stacey Smith, 46, waited outside the home of her manager Michala Morton before launching a “frenzied” attack which left her with life-changing injuries.
She was handed a 20-year sentence at Manchester Crown Court on Tuesday after she was found guilty of attempted murder last month.
Judge Hilary Manley said Smith, who worked as an ambulance care assistant at the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS), had “long held a grudge” towards Ms Morton.
“I detect very little remorse,” the judge said. “In fact, it seems you feel you were justified in your actions, or at least driven to it.”
The court heard during Smith’s trial in September that she had filed a formal grievance against her manager, whom she had worked with since 2017, as part of a years-long dispute over her shift patterns.
Hayley Bennett, prosecuting, told the jury that Smith’s wife, who was not named, also worked for NWAS.
“The crux of the issue was Stacey Smith and her wife wished to work together and share non-working days,” Ms Bennett said.
In November 2023, Smith made a second complaint against Ms Morton and was due to be spoken to by the ambulance service’s human resources department.
However, days before that on Nov 11, she turned up outside her boss’s home in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester, and “pounced” as her manager left for work at 5.30am.
Smith struck Ms Morton with a hammer on her head, arms, legs and torso and fractured her wrist as she tried to defend herself.
“Stacey Smith was screaming at Ms Morton during the attack, calling her manager a b—-.” Ms Bennett told the jury.
“She screamed that she was going to kill her. She was in a rage.”
Smith then left the scene in her car before texting a friend to say: “I’ve smashed her head in – Oopsie xx”.
Ms Morton’s neighbours rushed to administer first aid, secured the hammer and called emergency services, who took her to hospital.
Det Con Stephen McNee, from Greater Manchester Police, said she had been left with “serious and life-changing injuries”.
Smith later handed herself in at a police station, where she was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
Ms Bennett told the jury that Smith had been “very candid about her intent to kill Ms Morton, and how she wished she had”.
Smith, of Ascot Road, Newton Heath, pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent but denied attempted murder.
A jury unanimously found her guilty last month and on Tuesday she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, with five years on licence to follow.
Speaking after the sentencing, Det Con McNee said: “This was a particularly violent attack on the victim which left her with serious and life-changing injuries.
“Physically injuries may heal but the mental trauma of the attack will stay with the victim for life. I’d like to thank her for her bravery in supporting us with our investigation.
“I’d also like to thank the local residents who came to the victim’s aid on the morning of the attack, they ensured initial first aid was given to the victim before emergency services arrived and also made sure that the hammer was covered in a plastic bag to maximise the forensic evidence we could take.”
He added: “We are pleased with today’s result, which has seen a violent woman taken off the streets and we hope that this goes some way to helping the victim to come to terms with what has happened to her and allows her to heal.”