Don’t jail my wife...I’d find it even more painful than day she tried to murder me
Husband’s plea to judge that helped ‘perfect housewife’ walk free
A WOMAN who ‘strove to be the perfect housewife’ before trying to murder her husband has avoided jail after he begged for leniency.
Iain Fullerton wrote to judge Lord Ericht insisting that jailing his wife of 29 years would cause even more pain than he felt when she knifed him.
Grace Fullerton attacked her husband with a kitchen knife after locking him in their home in Westhill, Aberdeen.
He suffered a partially collapsed lung and an exposed tendon in his hand.
The 64-year-old business consultant needed 33 stitches and was permanently disfigured following the murder attempt.
Fullerton was facing jail when sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh yesterday. Instead, Lord Ericht ordered her to do 300 hours of community service, saying he was partly persuaded to impose such a sentence after reading her husband’s letter.
He also ordered that she be supervised by the authorities for three years.
Defence counsel Lili Prais had told the judge the couple continued to be ‘deeply in love’ with each other.
Lord Ericht said: ‘I have received a letter of support from your son, Matthew. Finally, I have received a letter from your husband, the man you attempted to murder.
‘He states, “I am the victim of the crime Grace has been found guilty of, and as such… I do not want Grace to suffer a prison sentence. I would feel more pain, should this happen, than I felt during the original incident.
“‘It would feel as though I have been hurt all over again. A prison sentence will not benefit anyone. I beg the court returns Grace to me so we can try to rebuild our lives together”.’
Lord Ericht then addressed Fullerton, 61, in the dock, saying: ‘A crime such as the one you committed should not go unpunished and I do not intend that it should go unpunished.
‘However, the circumstances of your case are highly exceptional. It is not necessary to impose a custodial sentence.’
The High Court in Aberdeen had heard claims Fullerton attacked her husband because he was an alcoholic who was about to drink-drive.
The assault happened in June 2016 when Grace Fullerton, who was suffering mental health problems, was trying to commit suicide.
Following her arrest, Fullerton told police she ‘may have saved someone’s life’ by stabbing him to stop him from drink-driving. She was convicted of attempted murder after a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen last month.
Fullerton wept as she heard the sentence, while her husband, sitting in the public benches, shouted: ‘Thank God.’
During proceedings last year, Mr Fullerton, a recovering alcoholic who has no memory of the attack, told the court: ‘I’m the reason she’s sitting in the dock.
‘I was an alcoholic for years and my behaviour caused us a lot of grief. I don’t believe she attacked me. I think it was a struggle.’
Family friend Ann Hepburn, 61, said Fullerton’s behaviour had changed after her marriage and the couple’s move to the upmarket Westhill area.
She said: ‘She strove to be a perfect housewife and a perfect hostess. She was very focused on homemaking.’
Yesterday, Miss Prais said her client was full of remorse for the attack on her husband, who was now recovering from his addiction.
She added: ‘She has gone through her life with significant mental health problems. She has made attempts on her life. However, my client and her husband are addressing the issues in their lives. He has achieved sobriety. They are deeply in love.’
Lord Ericht said: ‘The attempt to murder your husband took place during an attempt by you to commit suicide, and you have made other suicide attempts both before and since. You have begun to receive treatment for those difficulties.’
He added: ‘The psychiatrist notes that the offence occurred within the context of an apparent matrimonial argument surrounding your husband’s drinking.
‘He states that should your husband’s current abstinence be maintained, this is unlikely to be a point of conflict in the future.’
The couple declined to comment as they left.
‘Try to rebuild our lives together’