A husband fed up with caring for his blind wife hit her in the head with a meat cleaver in a Christmas Eve attack after his Xbox fell off a shelf, a court heard today. Jonathan Eldridge 'flipped' when he returned home after a drinking session to find that his games console and TV had tumbled to the floor while he had been out.
The court was told that the 42-year-old had become 'fed up' with caring for spouse Victoria and had told her that 'one of us is going to die and it's not me.' Today he was jailed for nine years for the 'brutal attack' that left his wife bleeding and unconscious.
Winchester Crown Court heard that Eldridge's wife of twelve years has epilepsy and is partially blind. In the months leading up to the attack at the couple's home in Ryde on the Isle of Wight, Eldirdge had become increasingly exasperated by looking after her, the court was told.
The day before he had attempted suicide, and having been discharged from hospital, went on an alcohol binge, the court heard. Prosecuting, Oliver Wellings said: "[The day before the incident] Mr Eldridge had taken a significant amount of ibuprofen in a suicide attempt, which he suggested that his wife was responsible for.
"[Eldridge told his wife over the phone from hospital] 'you're always saying sorry but it's not working, something has to change. One of us is going to end up dead and it's not me.' Mr Eldridge went to Newport and had three or four pints before getting the bus to Ryde and having five or six pints there. He then got the bus home."
Eldridge and his wife had two separate televisions, one for her to listen to, and one for him to use for gaming, the court heard. The court was told that online gaming formed a significant part of Eldridge's social life, particularly after lockdown.
Mr Wellings said: "It's possible that when he got home he found that his TV and Xbox had been pulled off the shelf which caused him to flip. [Eldridge] then approached his wife with (the knife).
"He said 'I'm going to hit you with this meat cleaver.' He hit her with a single blow to the top of her head. Luckily there was no serious damage to the brain."
Police officers and paramedics were deployed to the address where they found the victim unresponsive on the sofa, having suffered significant blood loss, the court heard. Eldridge was found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent at a trial earlier this year.
In a witness impact statement read to the court today, Mrs Eldridge said that she was 'still living' with the consequences of her husband's actions. She said that she was 'struggling to sleep' and has started wearing a scarf in public to cover the scar on her head.
Mrs Eldridge said: "I'm still nervous of going out. I see shapes and I become frightened of what they might be holding." The couple are believed to have started divorce proceedings.
Sentencing him to nine years in jail, Recorder Barry McElduff said: “This was a brutal assault. Having been discharged from hospital, you went on a drinking binge that night. You returned home that evening entering your property via the rear door.
“You armed yourself with a meat cleaver, a weapon you must have chosen with the intention of causing maximum damage. Rather by luck than judgement [your wife] survived. The effect upon Mrs Eldridge has been significant and enduring."
Eldridge, who was also handed a restraining order, did not react as he was handed his sentence. Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Adam Gamble of Hampshire Police said: “This was a shocking infliction of extreme violence which left a vulnerable woman with serious head injuries. There is simply no excuse whatsoever to commit such a horrific act against another person."
