A woman who murdered a father after puncturing his heart with a kitchen knife has been jailed for life.
Emma Berry plunged the blade into Dean Bennett’s chest on May 22 this year after grabbing the weapon from the kitchen sink.
The 46-year-old attacked Bennet, before getting on top of the 31-year-old and stabbing him through the chest, piercing his heart.
Berry was pulled away and the knife was taken from her. Emergency services were called but Mr Bennett could not be saved.
Bennett, was described by his daughter as the “best daddy ever” in the aftermath of the tragedy at court this week.
Berry was sentenced to life in jail and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday having admitted murder.
The court heard the two lived together in shared accommodation at the former pub called Old Quay House in Dock Road, Connah’s Quay, Flintshire, which was now social housing.
Berry was said to be “frequently intoxicated”, according to a Wales Online report.
On the day of the murder Berry had been assaulted by a partner in an incident which saw her pushed into a door while Mr Bennett was at a nearby pub asking people to give him a bed for the night, the court heard.
He was said to have been telling people he “could not go back” to his accommodation before returning after not obtaining an alternative place to stay.
It was heard Berry said she was “going to stab him” while looking at Mr Bennett that night as he argued with his girlfriend.
At this stage, the court heard, she went and collected a kitchen knife from one of the shared areas in the property, before carrying out the fatal stabbing.
As nearby police officers who were attending an unrelated matter arrived Berry was found “rocking back and forth” and “making funny noises”.
The court heard there had been no prior “bad blood” between Berry and Mr Bennett before the murder but it appeared the argument that broke out between Mr Bennett and his girlfriend was “too much to handle” in her drunken state.
Judge Rhys Rowlands said the killing was a short-lived and explosive loss of temper with “catastrophic” consequences that had “devastated” an entire family.
He said: “Dean Bennett was attacked in his own home – a place he ought to be safe.
“Your behaviour is far from out of character as you have previous convictions for serious violence.”
He jailed Berry for life with a minimum term of 16 years.
A family statement released following Mr Bennett’s death said: “Dean’s daughter has paid tribute saying that he was the ‘best daddy ever’ and she’s going to miss him always.”
