A woman stabbed her drunk abusive ex with a knife in self defence after he came at her with a broken bottle.
Emma Westwood, 36, had been in a relationship with Christopher Clark which was ‘characterised’ with domestic violence.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard that Mr Clark was made the subject of a restraining order in February last year, banning him from contacting Westwood.
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However, in April, he turned up at her new home, called her dad to ‘taunt’ that he was there, and went to attack her with a broken bottle.
Westwood, of Trafford, grabbed a knife and stabbed him to the chest and to the arm in self defence, the court heard.
She pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding and was today (December 17) handed a suspended sentence after a judge deemed there was ‘exceptional mitigation’.
Mark Kellet, prosecuting, said Mr Clark had been at a friend's house in Urmston from 3pm on April 16, and had drunk around four ciders and some vodka.
He said he ‘wasn’t sober but was aware of what was going on’, but couldn’t recall what happened next.
The following morning, police were called to reports of a stabbing on Seven Oaks Avenue in Davyhulme.
Paramedics also attended and found Mr Clark lying on the pavement with half of his top removed, a stab wound to his chest and a wound to his arm.
He had ‘no idea’ what had taken place, but officers spoke to Westwood and her dad who were standing close by.
“Mr Westwood told them Mr Clark was his daughter’s former partner,” he said.
“He described the scene as chaos.
“Mr Clark had phoned him and said he had the defendant’s phone, and he told him to give her the phone back.
“He said he knew Mr Clark had earlier been released from prison.”
Her dad described arriving at the house to find Mr Clarke in the kitchen with blood on the floor and said his daughter was screaming.
He tried to calm her down and said they had to phone an ambulance, but Mr Clark said not to phone anyone before going to run off - but he collapsed outside.
Officers later found blood splatters outside the house, blood in the hallway and a ‘large amount’ of blood in the kitchen.
A brown-handled kitchen knife was also recovered.
She told cops at the scene that they had an argument and Mr Clark had broken the door.
“She said he went for her and she stabbed him in order to defend herself,” Mr Kellet continued.
“She said after she stabbed him, he tried to stab her.”
Mr Clark was given oxygen at the scene and needed to be resuscitated.
He was taken to hospital and treated for a wound to his chest and wound to his arm that was so deep that it ‘exposed a fatty layer’ beneath the skin.
In a police interview, Westwood said he had attacked her in the past, that he had manipulated her, that he wasn’t nice to her and didn’t make her happy.
No victim personal statement was recorded and there was no evidence of a long term injury.
Westwood was said to have one conviction with post-dated these offences, so she was treated as a woman with previous good character.
A Goodyear indication had previously been given, with the judge stating that she would receive a suspended sentence as she had earlier pleaded guilty.
In mitigation, barrister Matthew Curtis said: “The mitigation was set out in a document that the court has already been made aware of.
“In short, this defendant had moved address to escape the difficulties in the relationship.
“She was the subject of a restraining order that was designed to protect her.”
Sentencing, Judge John Potter said the offences had to be looked at in the context.
He outlined the relationship between Westwood and Mr Clark, stating that she had been the subject of ‘a number of incidents of domestic violence’ and that he had a number of previous convictions.
“In September 2019 he was convicted of battery and sending menacing communications - the victim was you,” he said.
“A restraining order was granted in your favour and remains in place until March next year.
“He was convicted of harassment against you after visiting you and breaching that order and was sent to prison for 26 weeks."
He added that she was the victim of ‘long term domestic abuse’ and that there was ‘exceptional mitigation’ in the case.
Westwood, of Rostherne Road, was handed 16 months imprisonment which was suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 40 days of rehabilitation activity requirements.
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