A woman who stabbed her boyfriend to death in a frenzied knife attack in their flat has been jailed for at least 18 years for murder.
Builder's labourer Claire McMahon, 35, attacked John Robinson while he was in bed and used two blades to stab him up to 30 times and slice his windpipe in half.
He had earlier described her to family as a "mad b****" and likened her terrifying mood swings to Jack Nicholson's crazed character in the 1980 horror film The Shining.
Mr Robinson, 37, suffered fatal wounds to his neck, navel and back when he woke up and then began struggling with McMahon on the balcony of their second floor apartment in Dukinfield, Greater Manchester.
He died at the scene with tests showing he sustained three wounds to the back, including a 12cm (4.7in) deep wound which severed an artery and a wound to his throat which cut his windpipe in two.
After the killing, McMahon rang her boss in tears and said: "I just couldn't stop myself - I stabbed him all over".
She falsely claimed he had come at her with a knife and stabbed her in the hand before she grabbed the weapon from him.
Police inquiries revealed she had been terrorising and tormenting Mr Robinson during their five-year relationship and he referred to her as "that mad b****" when talking to his family.
The victim's sister told police her brother was seen with scratches on her neck and he told her he was "frightened and petrified"' of McMahon.
During violent rages, McMahon had also smashed a coffee table by throwing it at a wall, had hurled a Christmas tree at Mr Robinson and held a knife to his throat.
She had also banged his head so hard against the wall that Mr Robinson told friends his ordeal was like the "Here's Johnny" scene from The Shining in which Jack Nicholson's character takes an axe to a bathroom door in a bid to kill his wife Wendy.
McMahon herself had even handed a knife to a neighbour in a carrier bag for "safe keeping" to stop herself from attacking Mr Robinson.
At Manchester Crown Court, McMahon was convicted of murder after a two week trial and was sentenced on Tuesday to life with a minimum of 18 years.
She admitted killing Robinson but denied murder claiming she suffered a form of "complex post-traumatic stress disorder" due to her being in a "violent abusive relationship".
The jury heard the couple had been in a relationship since 2014 but would argue with one neighbours saying they were "having words with each other" once a month.
The tragedy occurred on May 23 this year after McMahon had been dropped off at home by her boss, Daniel McManus, who was an ex-boyfriend as well as her employer.
Francis McEntee, prosecuting, said: "[Mr McManus] said when he received the call from her just after midnight she sounded hysterical. She was saying something like 'I think I've killed him, I've stabbed him to death'.
"She told him she was covered in blood and when he got her to calm down a little, she said that Mr Robinson had stabbed her in the hand and she had taken the knife from him.
"She went on to say 'I've stabbed him, I just couldn't stop myself'. When asked about where she had stabbed him, she told Mr McManus that she has 'stabbed him all over'.
"Mr McManus arranged to collect the defendant and will confirm, that when he collected her she seemed very stressed. He persuaded her that she should return to the address and tell the police what had happened.
"He was the first to find Mr Robinson's body and he could see there was blood in the bed and a bit sprayed up the wall and on the door.
He also say a large silver knife on the bed, which he estimated to be 10 inches long, and a second knife that was black and was about six inches long.
"He could see Mr Robinson lying on the floor of the balcony on his back and tried to shake him to see if he could get a response - but he could not."
Neighbours had heard the couple arguing earlier.
Witness Lisa Hayes said she saw Mr Robinson pressing McMahon against the railing on the balcony.
Miss Hayes said she called out to McMahon to ask if she was ok but got no reply and subsequently saw Mr Robinson standing near the balcony door and making a "gasping noise".
After the incident, McMahon told a neighbour, Simon Hilton, "I've stabbed him", the court heard.
McMahon called 999 herself and told the call taker that Mr Robinson wasn't breathing, adding: "I stabbed him, I need the police, I need everything, he's attacked me as well."
McMahon was later arrested whilst she was sat in Mr McManus' van and a knife was found on a concrete path below the balcony.
