A man convicted of trying to kill his girlfriend by stabbing her with a carving fork and a pair of scissors has been jailed for life.
Benjamyn David Lilley, 29, was found guilty by a jury last month of attempting to murder Victoria Knapton on October 1 last year at the home they shared in Jim Lane, Marsh.
Appearing back at Leeds Crown Court for sentence Judge Tom Bayliss QC said he assessed Lilley was dangerous and warned he posed a risk to any future partners.
He said having left the house for a time after his partner told him she no longer wanted him around, “consumed by anger and fuelled by drink and cocaine” he had returned and confronted her to confirm she didn’t love him and wanted to end the relationship.
“When she did that you picked up a meat fork from the kitchen drawer and stabbed her to the neck under her chin, then picked up some scissors and stabbed her at the side of her neck.”
The judge said Lilley may have immediately regretted his actions and was apologising as she phoned 999, “but the jury decided in fury you had intended to killer her, to murder the woman you loved.”
He ordered Lilley to serve a minimum of seven years in prison minus the days spent on remand, but warned him he would only be considered for release when the Parole Board were satisfied he no longer posed a danger to the public and would then be on licence for life.
Ms Knapton described in court how Lilley had followed her into the kitchen with an “evil” look on his face.
She told the jury he said: “‘Tell me you don’t love me and don’t want to be with me any more’ and so I did.”
She said Lilley then went into the kitchen drawer and took out first the carving fork and stabbed her in the throat with it, then the scissors. “I was in shock, I thought I was going to die,” she said.
Ms Knapton was fed through a tube for four days in hospital while in pain and still bears the scars. She said she is self-conscious and tries to hide them with scarves but has flashbacks when she sees them in the mirror.
Nick Lumley QC, for Lilley, said his client loved her and immediately regretted what he had done. Although he had assaults on his record it was out of character to use weapons and he had no previous convictions for serious violence.
