A 46-year-old woman who dragged a knife across her boyfriend’s chest causing an “horrific” wound has been given a suspended jail sentence.
Drunken Caroline Greenwood started shouting at James Donaghey before she hit him twice on the back of the head and stabbed him in the right shoulder.
Bradford Crown Court heard that Greenwood then pulled the knife across her victim’s chest, causing a gaping wound.
In his statement Mr Donaghey said he thought he was going to die when he saw “a waterfall of blood” coming from his chest.
Prosecutor Paul Nicholson said the complainant got out of the ground floor flat in Fernside Crescent, Almondbury , and ran to his uncle’s home nearby.
In hospital Mr Donaghey had to have blood transfusions and the 20 to 30cm wound was stitched, leaving a permanent scar across his chest.
The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC, described the photographs of the wound as horrific and shocking and the court heard that Greenwood had initially been charged with attempted murder following the attack in September.
But at her trial in Leeds the prosecution accepted her guilty plea to a less serious offence of wounding and today (Tues) she was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years, when she appeared at Bradford Crown Court.
Mr Nicholson said after her arrest Greenwood was shown a photograph of the wound and simply said: “Oh God!”
In a further statement Mr Donaghey said he loved the defendant very much and he thought she was poorly at the time of the incident.
He said the defendant had missed her prescribed medication and had been drinking heavily that night.
The complainant suggested that Greenwood had been battling depression and needed help from doctors and psychiatrists.
“Caroline is one of the kindest human beings I have ever met,” he said. “She didn’t mean to do this. She needed help.”
Her barrister Anastasis Tasou said Greenwood was now planning to live in the Halifax area so she could make a fresh start.
Mr Tasou said his client had been subjected to violence in previous relationships and on this occasion she “struck back” for whatever reason.
“I hope you will accept the assessment of the author of the pre-sentence report that she is genuinely remorseful for her actions,” he added.
The judge told Greenwood, who had no previous convictions, that despite her very sad history she had managed to live with an apparent degree of normality.
Judge Durham Hall said she had accepted using “grossly excessive” force to defend herself and the photographs of the injury were enough to make a hardened observer feel physically sick.
But the judge said amazingly the injury was not really life-threatening although it would have been an horrific thing to experience.
He said there were very powerful mitigating circumstances which meant the jail term could be suspended and he ordered Greenwood to comply with a 35-day rehabilitation activity requirement as part of the sentence.
