# Stabbing of George Harrison

The stabbing of George Harrison, a musician and a former member of the Beatles, occurred on 30 December 1999.
Michael Abram, a male 34-year old paranoid schizophrenic from Liverpool, England, stabbed Harrison forty times. Despite sustaining severe injuries, Harrison survived the attack, though died in 2001 due to lung cancer. Those who knew him speculated that the stabbing was a cause of the cancer's return, with Keith Richards speculating "I think he probably would have beaten the cancer if it wasn't for the blade".

## Background
### Suspect

Michael Abram (born c. 1966) was from Liverpool, Merseyside, the same city as Harrison. He had been a talented student at St Columba's Comprehensive School in Huyton. He entered the telesales business sometime in the 1980s, and had a wife, Jeanette, and two children. Abram's mother, Lynda, asserted at the time that the pressures of the job had resorted him to take heroin and cannabis. Following a violent argument, Abram was admitted to a mental hospital for the first time in 1990; he would be admitted several times throughout the decade, and had become "desperately ill" by the end of the 1990s, by which he had resolved to kill Harrison.
Abram had suffered from schizophrenia and delusions, believed by mental health specialists to have been worsened by drug consumption, and regarded himself as Saint Michael and sent by God to kill Harrison.
A month before the intrusion, Abram had spent two weeks in a Merseyside psychiatric ward, but had been removed after allegedly attacking a member of the nursing staff, and having been deemed to not have any mental illnesses.

### Security at the estate

Harrison had become increasingly concerned about security following the murder of fellow Beatle John Lennon in 1980; local residents had equated Harrison's estate to Fort Knox. Security had already been increased following repeated death threats, a stalking incident in 1992 and a break-in attempt in 1997, resulting in searchlights and high barbed-wire fences being implemented. Additionally, guard dogs were on the property, and visitors had to be searched before access was granted.

## Attack

Shortly before the attack, Abram had entered a local church, and enquired "where the squire was", referring to Harrison. The vicar did not know who he meant initially.
At around 3:30 am on 30 December, Abram broke into Harrison's estate, by scaling the walls and bypassing his private security detail. George and his wife Olivia had been awoken by the sound of glass breaking, and got out of bed. After going downstairs and discovering a broken window, he witnessed Abram in the main hall of the estate. Abram was wielding a knife six or seven inches (15–18 centimetres) long, which Harrison spotted, and he began to wrestle Abram to disarm him. After Harrison begun chanting the "Hare Krishna" mantra to distract his assailant, the fight intensified. Harrison was repeatedly stabbed in his upper body throughout the assault, with one stab wound causing his lung to deflate. The attack was only halted when Olivia threw a lamp at Abram, and the police arrived to detain Abram.
Harrison was rushed into Royal Berkshire Hospital due to a collapsed lung and stab wounds, but was later moved to Harefield Hospital due to the extent of his injuries. In the hospital, he received painkillers to try to alleviate the pain; a surgeon at the hospital Harrison was treated at stated that he was "lucky to be alive". Harrison had received over 40 stab wounds, and a punctured lung had to be removed. One attack narrowly missed the superior vena cava; if it had been hit, death would have been almost certain. Despite being severely wounded, a spokesman for the Harrison estate described his status as being "stable but in pain". He would eventually be released from hospital under two weeks later, and was recuperating at home by the time of Abram's trial.

### Investigation

Euan Read, a chief inspector at Thames Valley Police, quickly denied that the incident was an attempted burglary, suspecting that "the offender had come down here deliberately". This account would be corroborated by Harrison, who also did not regard it as a burglary.
Harrison released a public statement shortly afterwards, stating "Adi Shankara, an Indian historical, spiritual and groovy-type person, once said, 'Life is fragile like a raindrop on a lotus leaf.' And you'd better believe it."

## Aftermath
### Abram's trial and subsequent events

Abram had suffered head injuries related to the attack, and was admitted to Royal Berkshire Hospital alongside Harrison. He appeared in court the day after, having been bailed by Oxford magistrates. During the trial, Abram requested to send a letter to the Harrison family. A statement was read out to the courtroom by Abram's lawyer, profusely apologising for the attack, and claiming that he was not aware he had schizophrenia. The court was also told that Abram liked to listen to music while sitting on an upturned flower pot, and his mental health had begun to deteriorate following the 1999 solar eclipse. Charged with attempted murder, Judge Justice Asill found Abram not guilty by insanity, though ordered indefinite confinement in a mental hospital. Harrison's son, Dhani, spoke outside of Oxford Crown Court, stating that it was "tragic that someone could suffer such a mental breakdown". Olivia was present at the court hearing, and stated: "There was blood on the walls and blood on the carpet. (...) This was the moment I realised that we were going to be murdered, and that this man was succeeding in murdering us, and there was nobody else there to help." George himself had not attended the court hearing, but provided a statement, asserting that "there was a time during this violent struggle that I truly believed I was dying". Abram had apparently offered no reaction to Harrison's vivid account.
Abram was discharged from a mental hospital in Rainhill in July 2002, eight months after Harrison's death, and placed into a hostel. Harrison's family reacted negatively to the early release, stating that they had not been informed of Abram's release beforehand, and referring to it as "upsetting and insulting". For his part, Abram insisted that he was no longer a risk and was a normal person whilst on medication.
The Liverpool Echo reported in 2005 that Abram had joined the local branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau. According to Philip Norman's 2023 biography of Harrison, Abram "was reportedly training to become a volunteer adviser for the Citizens Advice Bureau".

### Harrison's health following the attack

Harrison's injuries from the Friar Park attack were more severe than was reported in the press and led to the removal of a portion of one of his lungs; within a year, the cancer that he had beaten through treatment in 1998 returned in the form of lung cancer.
At the age of 58, Harrison died on 29 November 2001 at a property belonging to bandmate Paul McCartney in Beverly Hills, California.
Having seen Harrison looking so healthy beforehand, those in his social circle believed that the attack brought about a change in him and was the cause for his cancer's return.
Keith Richards told Rolling Stone magazine "I think he probably would have beaten the cancer if it wasn't for the blade [...] I mean, we know that he didn't die from [being stabbed], but I'm sure that it sort of broke down his resistance to what he had to deal with".
Harrison's Travelling Wilburys bandmate Tom Petty told Rolling Stone after Harrison's death, "[His death is] so much easier for me than if he had died that night in the attack. I don't think I could have dealt with that. I told him so. When I put on my TV the morning he was stabbed, it looked like he had died, there were so many biographical things coming up on the TV. After that, I told him, 'I already kind of went through your death.' And I said, 'Just do me a favor and don't die that way, because I just can't handle it.' He said he promised me he wasn't going out that way".
Harrison's son Dhani said of the attack "It definitely took years off of his life, you know. If you’re trying to fight cancer and then you’re trying to stay alive from something like that, it’s gotta take it out of you".

### Public reactions

McCartney issued a short statement after the attack, saying "Thank God that both George and Olivia are all right. I send them all my love."
Ringo Starr, the Beatles' drummer, provided a similar statement wishing well for Harrison and his family, and Beatles produced George Martin stated that he was "appalled" at the attack and opined about Harrison's recent reclusivity.
According to Harrison's son Dhani, George himself had reacted sarcastically to the attack, opining that "he wasn't a burglar, and he certainly wasn't auditioning for the Traveling Wilburys."
When asked if he was impressed at the defense of George made by Harrison's wife, Tom Petty said "When I heard about it, I sent George a fax, and it just said, 'Aren't you glad you married a Mexican girl?' Olivia really kicked ass".