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Woman jailed for knife attack on partner
A WOMAN who repeatedly stabbed her partner during a terrifying five-and-a-half-hour assault at their home has been jailed.
Terry Smith suffered knife wounds to his arms, abdomen, back, chest and thigh while desperately trying to escape the attack and pleading with Alison Newman to stop.
While Mr Smith drifted in and out of consciousness, Newman tried to set fire to the duvet he was lying on, disconnected the smoke alarms, then unplugged the phones, which she dumped in a sink full of water, the court heard.
Newman, 39, of Harbour View, South Shields, admitted wounding with intent, which carries a maximum sentence of life behind bars.
But at court yesterday, the mother and grandmother was jailed for two years after Judge Beatrice Bolton ruled Newman had snapped because of "battered wife syndrome".
The court heard the knife attack started just after 8pm on July 12 last year when a trivial row broke out between the couple.
It was as Mr Smith had put his shoes on to leave that he was first stabbed.
Ros Scott-Bell, prosecuting, told the court: "He turned around and saw Alison Newman standing in front of him with her right hand above her head, holding a kitchen knife.
"She brought the knife down and stabbed him in the left arm."
The court heard the wound immediately started "gushing" with blood, but Newman continued the assault with the blade while Mr Smith tried to get out.
Miss Scott-Bell said Mr Smith tried to smash the French doors, and desperately shouted for help from a bedroom window.
But she added: "The defendant grabbed him, pulled him away from the window and pushed him on to the bed. She continued her assault upon him, stabbing him again, in the stomach. Terry Smith pleaded with her to get help."
Newman, who sat in the corner of the bedroom smoking cigarettes "one after another" after the assault, finally let Mr Smith, who was becoming weaker and weaker because of massive blood loss, call for help at 1.30am.
When police arrived, the walls, windows and furnishings at the flat were covered in blood.
Mr Smith, who feared he was going to die, was taken to hospital for surgery, and spent some time in intensive care.
Newman admitted her guilt to the court on the basis she could remember nothing about the actual attack, and that she had suffered violent abuse by Mr Smith during their three-year relationship.
Mr Smith denied he had been abusive, but during an earlier hearing, at which they both gave evidence, Judge Beatrice Bolton ruled Mr Smith was violent.
Judge Bolton said: "I found and do find it is proved that the complainant used violence against you.
"While he looked to put himself forward as a quiet and placid man, it is quite apparent while in drink he is a violent man."
The court heard Newman has had past relationships with other violent men.
The judge told her: "I am quite satisfied that you were suffering from what is know as 'battered wife syndrome'.
"What I am clear about in your case is you felt isolated, hopeless and useless, and you felt there was no way out of this relationship.
"I'm quite satisfied on that occasion you did snap.
"I take the view your case is exceptional. You are suffering long-standing psychiatric consequences of domestic abuse, complicated by a further abusive relationship."
Judge Bolton said Newman may be able to break the cycle of the abusive relationships she has been in with professional help and does not pose a danger to the public.
The judge said: "I do question whether prison is the right place for a woman in your position, but then I have to do my duty and do what the public expect."
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Weather for South Shields
Tuesday 07 February 2012
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