Knife thug stabbed woman in face over homophobic abuse
A WOMAN whose partner was the victim of homophobic abuse during New Year celebrations repeatedly stabbed the perpetrator in the face and neck.
Megan Madden was jailed for five years and ten months after admitting attacking the woman with a penknife outside Bar Rogue in Manchester city centre
A judge warned the 22-year-old she could have been facing a murder charge – and at least 25 years in prison – had the situation unfolded differently.
“A stab wound to the neck can quite easily result in a fatal injury. That is how serious what you did could easily have been,” Judge Alan Conrad QC told her.
Madden’s pregnant partner Jade Madden, also 22, who is due to give birth next month, and their friend, 24-year-old Shannon Smith, were both spared jail.
Manchester Crown Court was earlier told the alleged homophobic remark angered Jade Madden, as she had only recently come out as gay after leaving an abusive relationship with a man.
The hearing heard the victim and the defendants had separately been bringing in the New Year in the early hours of January 1, last year, at Bar Rogue on Portland Street.
The woman who was later attacked believed Smith had been part of a group which had assaulted her on a previous occasion, the court heard.
A scuffle ensued, and the woman was ejected from the bar. The Maddens and Smith also left the bar and a further confrontation happened.
As the row continued, the woman ‘shouted and gesticulated’ at the three defendants and was said to have made a homophobic remark.
This angered Jade Madden, who then became involved, the court heard. During the brawl, Smith was punched and the women pulled each other’s hair. Jade Madden said the victim used a shoe as a weapon.
Megan Madden stepped in to defend her partner, arming herself with the knife and making ‘repeated downward strikes’ as Jade Madden held the woman, the court heard.
She used a bladed article, described in court as a penknife, during ‘two bursts’ of stabbing.
The victim suffered two superficial wounds to her chest, and three wounds to her head.
Megan Madden, of Brackley Avenue, Hulme, who has no previous convictions, later pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possessing a knife in public.
Smith, of Broadfield Road, Moss Side, and Jade Madden, of Clinton Avenue, Fallowfield, each pleaded guilty to a public order offence.
Jade Madden was sentenced to six weeks in prison, suspended for a year, while Smith received a two year community order.