Drugged-up South Yorkshire mum stabbed man "because he was a b****”

A drunk and drugged-up South Yorkshire mum who slashed her partner with a kitchen knife told a 999 operator she stabbed him "because he was a b****," a court heard.
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Gwyneth Whittingham said: "He is just about breathing but won't be for much longer," prosecutor Richard Sheldon told Sheffield Crown Court.

"She added "If the ambulance doesn't come soon I will do a bit more.""

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Whittingham was repeatedly asked to carry out first aid by the operator but refused, saying: "I am not helping him. Who f****** cares? He’s acting like he’s f****** dead."

The attack at her home on Dearne Street, Darton, Barnsley, on September 6, last year, left the 41-year-old man with a punctured lung and a slashed arm.

Whittingham was holding a can of lager when police arrived, Mr Sheldon added.

Her victim told police that Whittingham didn't mean to cause him serious harm. She said she only picked up the knife to scare him into leaving, and accepted making "hurtful comments" to the 999 operator.

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The court heard the attack put her in breach of an 18-month community order made after she admitted attacking her husband, in January 2019.

"She attacked her husband of 13 years using a bottle late at night when they had consumed the best part of three litres of wine," said Mr Sheldon.

On that occasion her husband was left with an egg-sized bump on his forehead. She later told police she lost her temper.

Sean Fritchley, mitigating, said Whittingham had mental health issues that were exacerbated by drink and cocaine misuse, but her husband remained supportive of her goal to become a mother again when she is released from prison.

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"He retrieved his clothes after she threw then outside and came back in," he said. "They struggled. They were both heavily intoxicated.

"She was very emotional and at the time was not in a good place mentally."

He said a "raft of help from the probation service" was available to her from probation and she had detoxed while she was in custody.

Whittingham, 34, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and received 22 months in prison.