Small Heath stabbings attacker Dominic Palmer jailed
A man who stabbed a teenager and a woman in two "unprovoked and frenzied" attacks just hours apart has been given a life sentence.
Dominic Palmer, 29, knifed the 15-year-old in the head and neck outside a mosque, while his 59-year-old victim was attacked on her way to work.
Both suffered severe injuries in the "unexplained" attacks, for which Palmer has never provided a motive.
He had denied attempted murder but was found guilty at Birmingham Crown Court.
Palmer, of Herbert Road, Small Heath, was sentenced to a minimum of 19 years.
He left his flat in the early hours of 30 September, and walked to nearby Hussaina Mosque, where the teenage boy was being dropped off by his father, prosecutors said.
As Palmer stabbed him multiple times, the schoolboy screamed and his father, along with members of the congregation, rushed to his aid.
The boy - who had celebrated his 15th birthday just two days before - was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital where he was put into an induced coma, the CPS said.
Palmer fled but was caught on CCTV at his flats with bloodied hands. He set off about four hours later, striking again at about 05:30 BST in nearby Cyril Road.
He stabbed the woman in her nose, jaw and face after approaching her from behind.
'Wrong place wrong time'
Palmer was subsequently arrested at his flat where police recovered two knives and clothing which had the victims' blood on.
Suspicions the first attack was racially motivated were later discounted with police believing the pair were "simply in the wrong place at the wrong time".
Det Insp Richard Marsh said: "These were savage attacks; without intervention of members of the public and medical assistance both incidents could have resulted in fatal consequences."
The judge discounted Palmer's history of mental illness as a reason for the attacks, Mr Marsh said.
Georgina Davies, from the CPS described the stabbings as "unprovoked and frenzied".