Judge outlined sentence for knife-wielding South Yorkshire murderer who stabbed wife 13 times

Sheffield Crown Court heard on July 29 how Darren Youel, aged 54, of Rotherham Road, Monk Bretton, Barnsley, stabbed his wife Julie Youel 13 times following an argument before stabbing himself three times and calling 999 for an ambulance and police.

Mark McCone, prosecuting, said Youel murdered his wife after stabbing her 13 times on May 21, this year, and he then stabbed himself and alerted the emergency services.

Youel told police he had stabbed himself three times because he was ashamed of what he had done in front of his two daughters, but they had not been present during the murder.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, The Recorder of Sheffield, told Youel the circumstances of the case revealed a “baleful state of affairs” in his marriage.

He added: “The victim of this murder was your wife. During May 21, 2022, you brutally stabbed her to death.

"You inflicted 13 wounds with a knife to her torso and a further injury to her elbow.

"She sustained massive blood loss and endured a collapsed lung. She would have been - for a short while – aware of the brutality of the attack. That is an aggravating feature because she would have suffered for a relatively short while before she succumbed.”

Youel, who has no previous convictions or cautions, pleaded guilty to murder.

Judge Richardson said he was satisfied the murder was not premeditated so the starting point to consider for Youel’s minimum term of custody on a sentence of life imprisonment was 15 years of custody.

He added: "The backdrop to this case is extraordinarily sad. I have little doubt that you once loved your wife and it appears you brought up your children effectively and well. It was a loving family.

"But arguments erupted. This, particularly, became bad during the pandemic. The situation between the two of you became worse when you both drank drinks. Each said nasty things about the other and you descended into a vortex of destruction which ended in the murder of your wife.

"On May 21 against the backdrop that I have just set out you were drinking, you were arguing and eventually you snapped. You picked up a knife and brutally stabbed your wife. Thereafter you stabbed yourself in an outpouring of self-pity.”

Judge Richardson explained Youel merited credit for his guilty plea as per legal guidelines allowing him to reduce the minimum term by one-sixth.

He added there was also mitigation to be considered because the murder had not been premeditated but at the same time this was cancelled out because of his wife’s suffering and the judge felt Youel must have harboured an intent to kill.

Judge Richardson said that if there had been a trial, Youel would have received life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years before he could be considered for release.

But due to the defendant's guilty plea he was entitled to credit and the minimum term was reduced to 12 years and six months less 69days that Youel had already served while he has been remanded in custody.