No recall of stabbing after booze session

After a drinking session lasting several hours, a woman tried to stab herself in the chest before turning the knife on a friend.

Defendant Lee-Ann Joy Carmichael was so drunk she had little memory of what she had done, but the victim needed stitches to repair a small puncture wound to her hand.

The summary of facts said the

42-year-old, her partner and the victim were drinking together on August 27 at a Miro St address in New Plymouth.

Throughout the drinking session, Carmichael and her partner were bickering constantly. About 3.30am the defendant went to the kitchen and picked up a knife.

Upon seeing this, the victim became worried and a minor scuffle broke out between her and Carmichael. As a result the knife fell to the floor.

‘‘You picked up another knife and started stabbing yourself in the torso,’’ Judge Chris Sygrove said. Horrified, the victim flung out her arms and yelled at her to stop. Carmichael then turned the knife on the woman and stabbed in her the left hand.

She previously pleaded guilty to assaulting a person by stabbing and appeared for sentencing yesterday.

The judge said a probation report highlighted the defendant’s difficult upbringing, which had resulted in her inability to trust people or cope with everyday life.

Carmichael had shown remorse and also accepted she had an alcohol problem, he said. Judge Sygrove said the victim had been upset about what happened but had since forgiven Carmichael.

A referral to restorative justice was made in the case but did not proceed due to Carmichael’s inability to remember the offending due to her level of intoxication.

She was sentenced to six months’ community detention, where she will abide by a daily

7pm to 7am curfew. A nine month term of supervision was also imposed.