Billy Baxter, 16, needed life-saving surgery after the attack and has been left with a 12-inch scar down his chest
An autistic teenager who stayed inside his home for more than two years due to social anxiety was brutally stabbed after venturing out for just the second time.
Billy Baxter, 16, from Blackburn, was knifed in the heart and lungs on the evening of 17 September last year while walking close to his home in what is believed to be a disagreement over a girl.
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Billy Baxter, 16, needed life-saving surgery (Photo: Jessie Brian / SWNS)
He needed life-saving surgery after the attack and has been left with a 12-inch scar running down the length of his chest.
His mother Jessie Brian, 35, found out about the attack when Billy sent her a message on Snapchat to say he was on his way to hospital.
Billy’s 17 year old attacker – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was sentenced to just 28 months in custody for the offence last week.
He was originally charged with attempted murder but this was downgraded to wounding with intent by the Crown Prosecution Service.
Ms Brian described the sentence as a “slap on the wrist” while Billy has been left traumatised by the incident, and forced to turn his back on his life and ambitions.
His mum said: “Billy wanted to be a plumber and now he’s too scared to go out of the house just when he got his confidence back.
“It’s heartbreaking what he’s done to my son, and in court, he held his head up high like nothing had happened.
“I’ve been around this area for 35 years – it’s the only area that I’ve known – and now we have to leave because the attacker knows my address and so does his family.”
The attack left Billy with a 12 inch scar down his chest (Photo: Jessie Brian / SWNS)
‘It was a nightmare’
Billy has ADHD and autism and has spent more than two years without leaving his girlfriend’s home due to his lifelong developmental disability.
However, the couple broke up shortly before the attack in September and Billy moved back in with his mum.
He was ambushed after leaving his home at around 6.45pm to meet up with a new love interest.
Ms Brian said: “He’d been in a relationship, and he’d found out she was cheating on him, so he came back home after isolating with her for two and a half years.
“I said …….