A husband has forgiven his wife
after she stabbed him in the chest
during a New Year’s Eve party, a
court has heard. Margaret Lester grabbed a knife
after drinking heavily while on
medication at her home in
Stockton-on-Tees, Gazette Live
reports. The 57-year-old then stabbed her
spouse twice as he sat on a couch,
leaving a 2cm-deep wound in his
chest, Teesside Crown Court was
told. But despite the attack, Lester’s
husband – who also suffered a less
serious 5mm-deep cut to his arm –
has forgiven his wife, the court
heard. Now, Lester has been spared jail
after a judge heard how the assault
last December was ‘out of
character’ and her partner had
forgiven her. The couple had invited friends over
to their Stockton home for dinner at
New Year. Paul Newcombe, prosecuting, said:
“During the evening all parties had
been drinking heavily. “The defendant’s mood darkened
and witnesses present sensed
trouble.” A heated argument followed which
led to Lester taking a knife and
stabbing her husband twice as he
sat on the couch. Horrified guests called police and
Lester was arrested. She fell ill in
custody and was taken by officers
to hospital where she expressed
remorse for what she had done. The court heard that Lester’s
husband has supported her, and did
not want his wife to go to prison. Sentencing Lester, Judge Tony
Briggs described the offence as ‘a
serious knife attack’. But he told the defendant: “It is
perfectly plain you have had a
significant number of serious
problems. It was totally out of
character.” He gave her a 21-month prison
sentence which was suspended for
two years.
