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Poole man jailed for stabbing housemate (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Poole man jailed for stabbing housemate
2:00pm Friday 18th January 2013 in News
SENTENCE DELIVERED: Steven Duckworth who has been given a three years and four months prison term, arriving at Bournemouth Crown Court.
AN ATTACKER who stabbed his housemate during a drunken rage has been jailed for three years and four months.
Father-of-four Steven Duckworth admitted causing Jonathan Whiteford grievous bodily harm, with intent, after violence flared on June 15 last year.
Prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, Dawn Hyland said Duckworth and Mr Whiteford had rented rooms in a shared property in Sea View Road, Poole. After Duckworth returned in a drunken state, he let himself into Mr Whiteford’s room and told a friend to leave, accusing them of stealing food from the fridge.
Duckworth, 28, hurled Mr Whiteford’s mobile phone against a wall before hitting him over the head with a laptop computer and pulling a knife from his back pocket.
Miss Hyland said Duckworth had plunged the blade into Mr Whiteford’s leg, pushing it as hard as he could and leaving the blade embedded in Mr Whiteford’s thigh for about 10 seconds.
“Mr Whiteford could feel his trousers getting soaked in blood. The defendant pushed him on the bed and restrained him, holding the knife to his throat for about five minutes and saying: ‘I’ll kill you; I know you are going to tell the police.’”
Duckworth lost his grip on the knife but continued to punch his victim in the face, even after Mr Whiteford’s concerned friend had called the police.
The court heard how Mr Whiteford had needed surgery and nine stitches to a wound which had left a permanent scar. The cleaner could not work and relied on crutches to get him around for the next fortnight.
In a statement, he said he had suffered from anxiety and depression following the attack, adding: “I no longer feel safe in my own home which is the one place where I should feel safe.”
In Duckworth’s defence, the court was told how he had been “very intoxicated” after downing nine pints and several spirit measures. He still had no recollection of the attack but was “gutted” by what he had done and had sought serious help for his drinking problem.
