A drunk woman who pulled a hidden knife from her sleeve and stabbed her flatmate three times has avoided jail.
Danielle Ainsworth, 27, got into a ‘misunderstanding’ with victim Kristian Stewart and ‘lunged towards him’ with the knife causing wounds to his leg and knee.
Burnley Crown Court heard how Ainsworth had been staying at Mr Stewart’s flat on South Street in Accrington in the month leading up to the incident which happened at a neighbour’s house.
Ainsworth, now of Edleston Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to wounding and was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months with a supervision requirement and alcohol treatment requirement and was also ordered to pay £100 compensation.
Emma Kehoe, prosecuting, said the incident happened on the afternoon of December 2, 2014, when Ainsworth and Mr Stewart were drinking at a neighbour’s house.
She told the court: “There appears to have been a discussion between the three parties and somehow Miss Ainsworth got the wrong end of the stick and thought that Mr Stewart was in fact asking her to leave the flat, but of course he wasn’t.
“It was that misunderstanding which led to the incident that then happened upstairs in the neighbour’s dwelling.”
Miss Kehoe said Mr Stewart was sat on the floor when ‘at some point’ Ainsworth picked up a knife and ‘put it down the sleeve of the top she was wearing’.
She said: “She then showed the victim the fact she had a knife and then went over and lunged towards him three times causing the injuries.”
The court heard how Mr Stewart was taken to hospital with two wounds to his leg that were three centimetres in length and up to three centimetres deep and the knee wound was ‘superficial’.
Ainsworth was arrested shortly after the incident and told police ‘this will be about the stabbing’.
Miss Kehoe said Ainsworth made no comment when questioned by officers but provided a statement claiming she had the knife for ‘self defence’.
Miss Kehoe said: “Her guilty plea means that it is not something she now advances.”
A victim impact statement told how Mr Stewart’s injuries have healed however he is ‘more vigilant now’ and ‘has some fear of a further attack’.
