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A woman stabbed her boyfriend in the chest when he told her to be quiet during a drunken fight.
Thomas Jones and Jennifer Chadwick drank more than seven more pints during an eight-hour binge.
But when they got home and ordered takeout, Chadwick, 39, began questioning his partner about his past.
The victim, who said Chadwick was his caretaker, described how he ripped open his shirt and then attacked him with a steak knife.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that the couple were in a relationship for about two years and lived at Mr. Jones’s home on Walker Drive, Bootle.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecutor, said: “He describes the defendant as his caregiver because he is suffering a lot, he seems to have arthritis.”
They went out to drink around 2 p.m. on Friday, September 25 of this year, before returning home shortly before 10 p.m.
Hopkins said: “They had drunk, it says about seven and a half pints each and some shorts; from any point of view, they must have been pretty drunk.”
Mr. Jones said that Chadwick started to “get started” by asking him, “Why have you been so secretive about everything? Tell me what happened in the past.”
The victim said he was pushed and shoved and that he was “so frustrated” that he began hitting his head repeatedly on a kitchen cupboard.
Mr. Jones described Chadwick pushing him again before she opened a kitchen drawer, pulled out a steak knife, and “shoved it in.”
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Hopkins said, “He didn’t remember what they were talking about because he had a lot to drink, but he remembered telling him to shut up because he was yelling.”
The victim said he was looking her directly in the eye when she stabbed him once in the chest and then pulled the blade out three to four inches.
He suffered a 1.5 cm by 0.5 cm wound, which penetrated to the underlying cartilage but did not damage any organs, and was treated with three staples.
Judge Thomas Teague, QC, said: “There was no serious internal injury, but it could have been fatal, a knife to the chest.”
Mr. Hopkins replied, “He was certainly very lucky.”
The court heard that Jones had withdrawn his support for the indictment and decided not to make a victim statement.
Hopkins said police had been called to the property on previous occasions, but a formal report was never filed.
He said: “Clearly this relationship is problematic and obviously involves both parties with various problems.”
Chadwick, who had no prior convictions and made no comment when interviewed, has been in pretrial detention at HMP Styal for two months.
She was charged with wounding with the intention of causing serious bodily harm, but admitted the misdemeanor of wounding, which was accepted by the Crown.
Charlotte Kenny, in defense, said the Probation Service had discussed whether Chadwick could be placed at Adelaide House on Edge Hill, a facility “designed for women coming out of custody where there is an element of risk.”
However, he said that due to the coronavirus pandemic and limited venues, there was no room there until December, which meant that if Chadwick was saved from jail, he would either be left homeless or would have to live with Jones again.
She said: “Mrs. Chadwick does not want to live with Mr. Jones again. She was visibly distressed when this was discussed.
“She was eager to emphasize that Mr. Jones was not physically violent towards her, although he was yelled at and found the relationship to that point very oppressive.”
Kenny said that due to the circumstances, he was unable to suggest an alternative to prison.
However, he said the Probation Service had indicated that if Chadwick received a jail sentence, when she was released on leave, she could move to Adelaide House.
Ms. Kenny said that Chadwick was good-natured, vulnerable and repentant, adding: “She is very tearful, not for herself. She is very ashamed and sorry.”
He added that his client “has not had an easier life,” including a “fractured childhood,” with “parents who really had demons of their own” and needed support for their alcohol problems.
Liverpool courts are some of the busiest in the UK, with a wide variety of cases heard each week.
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Judge Teague told Chadwick: “You just assaulted your boyfriend, Thomas Jones, after you both got drunk.
“He suffers from arthritis and it seems to some extent depends on his care.”
He said that Chadwick suffered from an emotionally unstable personality disorder, but that he was currently not prescribed any medication, and “the main factor that contributed to what happened was not his personality disorder, but his alcohol use.”
Judge Teague said: “I note that in the past you have been abused by an abusive boyfriend, although not by Mr. Jones, whom you yourself have described as ‘a charming man’, although it seems that your relationship with him was very difficult.And that wasn’t all from your side, it was from both sides.
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“Although he has accused him of being abusive to you, the history of police incidents appears to have been him calling the police, although he has never filed any formal complaint about you in the past.”
The judge said that apart from the scars, Mr. Jones was supposed to have made a full recovery, but said: “The result could have been much more serious and could even have been fatal.”
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“It only takes one stab to cause death.”
She said the crime was too serious for anything other than a prison sentence and imprisoned her for nine months.
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