An alcoholic who stabbed his partner in her own home before fleeing and asking nearby workers to carry out a citizens arrest on him has been jailed.
Gary Oldham ‘lunged’ at the victim with a knife during an argument on Havelock Street in Oswaldtwistle when there were three young children in the house.
Preston Crown Court heard how Oldham said to the victim ‘I told you I would get you, you *****’ and then later said to a friend walking on a path ‘I’ve ******* killed her’.
Oldham then approached three men on Charles Street in a ‘drunk but very calm’ manner and said ‘I need you to make a citizens arrest. I’ve stabbed her, I need to you to ring the police’.
Oldham, 41, of St Paul’s Court, Oswaldtwistle, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing an offensive weapon and was jailed for three years and four months.
Robert Dudley, prosecuting, said Oldham and the victim had been in a relationship for six years, but in the last three years it had been ‘on and offer with bitter arguments becoming more frequent’.
The court heard how Oldham is a ‘functioning alcohol’ and 10 weeks before the incident on September 29 last year the victim decided to end the relationship.
Mr Dudley said she was in her home at around 4pm with her son, her friend and her two children when a drunk Oldham entered the house.
The court heard how an argument developed before Oldham ‘lunged’ towards her with a knife and stabbed her once to the stomach and twice to the arm.
Mr Dudley said Oldham fled and later went up to workers redecorating a house and said he had ‘seen red because she had smirked at him, he had stabbed her twice and regretted it as soon as he did it’.
When police arrived, Oldham told them ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done, I hope she’s all right’.
When interviewed by officers Oldham claimed the victim had ‘sent two lads round to beat him up’ the previous weekend but he didn’t let them in and was carrying the knife for ‘protection’.
His partner was taken to hospital for treatment and was released the next day.
A victim impact statement told how she has ‘no lasting pain from her injuries’.
She also said that she is ‘not scared of the defendant, recognises he is an alcoholic and is not a bad man, just in a rut’.
'Couple of minutes of complete madness'
Gary Oldham underwent a ‘couple of minutes of complete madness’, defence barrister Gordon Hennell told the court.
He added: “On any view this is an extremely serious case.
“There’s little I can say about the circumstances. It was a couple of minutes of complete madness.
“He had the weapon with him which is not to his credit, however his reactions thereafter do give him more credit, asking people to do a citizens arrest, staying there, saying how sorry he was and making admissions in interview.”
Judge Stuart Baker said it was a ‘short-lived episode of violence’.
He said: “It was, from everything I’ve read about you, something which was out of character but it was nevertheless a very serious offence.
"You went to your partner’s home with the intention of confronting her.
“Fortunately for you, and for her, those injuries were not really serious or life threatening. They were not deep-penetrating wounds and she did not suffer any major internal injuries.
“There are no alternative in those circumstances than to impose an immediate sentence of custody which must be of a significant length.”
