The fate of the teenager who pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of CedarBridge security officer Kariim Wales hangs in the balance while another expert witness is called.

Jahmel Eugene Mallory, 18, of Tommy Fox Road, St. George's pleaded guilty in Supreme Court yesterday to stabbing 31-year-old Mr. Wales in a frenzied attack in darkness at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium on March 27 last year.

The court heard that Mallory had been suffering from mental problems for about a year and a half before the attack and had attacked his father and later a bus driver the day before he stabbed Mr. Wales.

Crown Counsel Juan Wolffe read a statement from Mr. Wales, who said he was still suffering nightmares and flashbacks from the attack in which he suffered a collapsed lung and spent four days in the Intensive Care Unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

He suffered various stab wounds and needed a tracheotomy while one stab wound went through his neck and through the base of his tongue.

Mr. Wales was patrolling the school property before the start of lessons when he was radioed about an ex-student prowling the premises in a bandanna.

He recognised the student and followed him to the library but lost him as the student ran down the opposite steps.

Mr. Wales then peered through a gap in the door at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium where he saw Mallory staring back at him holding the door closed.

Mallory then let go and Mr. Wales went into the theatre hunting for the light switch but saw a silhouetted figure moving in the darkness.

Mr. Wales, who was unaware Mallory had a knife, then felt a fist grab his throat. Unaware that he had been stabbed in the throat he tried to tackle Mallory who stabbed him twice in the head and underneath the face in the chin.

He grabbed the defendant but with his free hand felt his neck bleeding profusely.

He was then stabbed in the chest twice and slipped up in his own blood and landed on his back while Mallory continued the attack.

Mallory pinned Mr. Wales down with his knee across his chest and then stabbed him several times in the shoulder.

Feeling faint he managed to push the defendant upward and grab his feet and pull them from under him but as Mallory fell he managed to land another knife blow into Mr. Wales' back.

Both men got up and Mr. Wales stood next to the emergency exit and as his attacker launched into him again the pair burst through the door.

Again Mallory pinned his victim down but Mr. Wales called out to two female teachers walking to work.

One of them tried to pry the knife out of Mallory's hand. He eventually let go after the teacher pleaded with him to release his grip and Mallory ran off but was quickly stopped by maintenance and security staff at Prospect Primary.

In a statement read out to court Mr. Wales said the incident played on is mind and he believed that searches would reveal that a student brought an illegal weapon to school everyday.

He said: "It caught me completely off guard. I did nothing to provoke it. He was relentless.

"I was begging him to stop. I thought my life was going to end. I was ready to go. I thought of my wife and family.

"Only by the grace of God was I able to wrestle him outside. Where the strength came from is nothing short of a miracle. Not a day goes by without me thinking about it.

"I feel sorry for Jahmel - he need's help." Dr. Paul Harlow, consultant chief of psychiatry at St. Brendan's Hospital, said Mallory had undergone changes in his manner prior to the attack.

He said: "The overwhelming picture is of a young man previously of good personality and conduct who over a year to a year and a half deteriorated in conduct and deteriorated in his mental state."

He said Mallory became increasingly socially isolated and exhibited bizarre behaviour including paranoia and delusions.

He also thought his food was being interfered with by his parents and would only touch food prepared by himself. Mallory also didn't recognise his family and thought family friends were his parents.

The defendant also showed increases in aggressive and anti-social behaviour with more than 30 incidents reported at school.

Dr. Harlow said: "There were two wondering episodes of walking without shoes not recognising people who spoke to him."

He said Mallory had showed some signs of improvement on medication but needed continuing care and treatment in a special setting and that prison would exacerbate his condition.

He said: "Prisons throughout the world are awash with drugs - that doesn't help. I don't think it (the attack) was particularly directed at Mr. Wales as an individual. He was just a person standing in his way."

He said Mallory had conducted a frenzied attack on Mr. Wales and was still making stabbing motions when he no longer had the knife.

Mr. Woolfe called for an immediate custodial sentence of between six to eight years.

Defence lawyer Elizabeth Christopher said prison would not be appropriate. She said the court should take into account that Mallory was previously of good character, was only 17 at the time of the offence and had pleaded guilty once he became fully aware of what he had done.

Assistant Justice Charles-Etta Simmons adjourned the sentencing until February 21 when another doctor will give testimony necessary for a hospital order to be granted.