A Warrawong woman who got drunk and threw a meat cleaver into her partner’s back has been spared a full-time jail sentence.
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The attack left the injured man requiring stitches to a five centimetre-wide, half centimetre-deep wound, but did not seriously diminish his affection for the woman. He later refused to provide a statement to police because, he told an investigating officer, “I don’t want her charged, chief”.
Fiona Elizabeth Delauney was having drinks with the man, Robert Allen, at her Kully Way apartment the evening of May 31 when the pair began arguing.
According to police documents, Mr Allen accused Delauney of being attracted to another man, who had joined their drinking session but departed as the row grew more heated.
As Mr Allen went to leave, Delauney threw the cleaver at his retreating back. He took refuge in a neighbouring apartment as other residents contacted police and paramedics.
Delauney, 48, initially denied the was responsible for the wound, telling police she had simply brandished the cleaver and “chased [Mr Allen] out of my unit”.
“I don’t know how he hurt himself, maybe falling down the stairs,” she said.
But she later admitted to throwing the cleaver - “it was an accident”, she said.
Delauney pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless wounding.
In court on Friday her solicitor called for a lenient sentence, arguing her client’s poor mental health made her an unsuitable case to be made an example of.
Magistrate Michael Stoddart noted Delauney’s almost-clean criminal record.
“I accept that there were some mental health issues but it’s indicated alcohol was a big factor,” he said.
“She chased him out of there with a meat cleaver. It was never going to end well.”
The magistrate ordered Delauney to spend 18 months in prison, but suspended the sentence on condition of good behaviour. An apprehended violence order prevents Delauney from approaching Mr Allen within 12 hours of consuming alcohol.