The ACT Supreme Court heard the 30-year-old woman has been fighting with other detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Centre. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
CONTENT WARNING: This article refers to family violence.
The threats a woman made to kill her partner nearly came true as she went on to stab him in the chest, leaving him with a collapsed lung.
After she was arrested, she started chewing on her mattress in her watch house cell before launching a brutal attack on three police officers.
When the 30-year-old woman was sentenced by the ACT Supreme Court on Friday (8 August), the court heard she initially said she had no regrets about the violence she inflicted on her partner.
In September 2024, she had been out drinking with her friends before returning to the home where she lived with her partner and her mother. She started arguing with the former because he wouldn’t give her car keys as she was too drunk to drive.
“I’m going to stab you to death because you’re a piece of s-t and you deserve to die,” she told him.
She punched and slapped the man in the face in front of her mother before destroying her mother’s television by pulling it to the ground.
She then got a steak knife from the kitchen and stabbed the man in the arm and chest.
“You f-ing deserve to die, you dog,” she told him.
A neighbour heard the man’s cries for help and called an ambulance. Police were then called.
The man was taken to hospital where it was discovered the stab wound had punctured his lung, collapsing it, and left pockets of air in his chest. He stayed in hospital for three days for treatment.
Meanwhile, the woman was arrested and taken to a police watch house where she began chewing on a mattress in her cell.
She then assaulted three police officers who came into her cell, including hitting two in the head and dragging one by the hair, leaving them with bruises.
The woman, who isn’t named to protect her partner’s identity, pleaded guilty to single counts of intentional wounding, making a threat to kill, destroying/damaging property and four assault-related charges.
She has remained in custody since her arrest that September, where she has been recorded testing positive for drugs, possessing jail-made alcohol and fighting with other detainees.
Justice Belinda Baker said the woman reported being heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time of the stabbing.
She had been drinking a bottle of vodka a day and had increased her meth use.
The judge said the woman had borderline personality disorder and endured a traumatic childhood.
Justice Baker said the woman had not demonstrated remorse to her partner, but had shown limited remorse for the offences against her mother and the police.
The woman was convicted and sentenced to almost three-and-a-half years’ jail with two years’ non-parole.
As this was backdated to account for time served, she will be eligible to be released from September 2026.
If this story has raised any concerns for you, 1800RESPECT, the national 24-hour sexual assault, family and domestic violence counselling line, can be contacted on 1800 737 732. Help and support are also available through the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre on 02 6247 2525, the Domestic Violence Crisis Service ACT 02 6280 0900, the Sexual Violence Legal Services on 6257 4377 and Lifeline on 13 11 14. In an emergency, call Triple Zero.
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