Knife attack girl ‘spared jail’ may still be expelled from Oxford
AN OXFORD student who was told she might avoid prison after a drugfuelled assault on her boyfriend may still be expelled from her college, it has emerged.
Lavinia Woodward last week admitted stabbing Thomas Fairclough in the leg. But a judge hinted that her academic ability meant halting her studies with a jail term would be ‘too severe’.
And it has come to light that the medical student was already on a final warning from her college when she attacked the 25-yearold Cambridge graduate.
Christ Church had spoken to her about her behaviour just two weeks before the September assault, after it discovered she had been taking drugs. She was told: ‘Any more drug-taking, or misconduct of any kind, would indeed result in expulsion.’
This was despite her being one of the best students on her course.
Woodward, 24, admitted unlawful wounding at Oxford Crown Court last week. The court heard she attacked Mr Fairclough in her university digs with a bread knife, as well as punching him in the face and throwing a laptop, a jam jar and a glass at him.
Judge Ian Pringle said that while her assault would ‘normally attract a custodial sentence’, he felt: ‘If this was a one-off, to prevent this extraordinarily able young lady from following her desire to enter the [medical] profession would be too severe.’
Critics have argued that someone working on a supermarket checkout would not attract the same sympathy.
A spokesman for the University of Oxford has now said that any comments suggesting Woodward would be allowed to complete her studies at Christ Church ‘were the judge’s not the college’s’. He added pointedly that there was ‘no guarantee of a return’, and that it was usual for university disciplinary procedures only to begin once relevant court cases were over.
The spokesman added: ‘The context is obviously serious.’
Woodward grew up with her wealthy mother in Italy where she was educated at an English-speaking private school.
At Oxford, she has been accused of subjecting fellow students to a ‘reign of terror’.
He peers – who describe her as ‘clever and manipulative’ – have demanded to know why the court was not told of her ‘history’ of making threats of violence.
Inviting unsavoury characters suspected of supplying her with cocaine into college was just one of her misdemeanours. A source familiar with Woodward’s career at Oxford said: ‘This was not a solitary incident. There are other people she has threatened. She needs help. I don’t think a clear picture of her has come from the court case.’
Another contemporary at Christ Church said: ‘I’m not at all surprised she’s ended up attacking someone with a knife, at least three people have been threatened by her.
‘She has been so clever and manipulative. The judge has presented her as this talented student who’s made one mistake in life but actually she’s got this history that hasn’t been considered.’
One female student and former friend said: ‘It is surreal the [knife] attack could be contemplated as a onetime event. Her history is peppered with traumatised people – she had an incredibly short fuse.’
One alleged confrontation occurred in the street around the time Woodward attacked Mr Fairclough. It is said to have started when she screamed at another student across the road who was speaking to an ex of hers.
A witness said: ‘She called her horrible names like slut, and bimbo. My friend crossed the road to calm her down. She [Woodward] then began lashing out at her, slapping her and trying to shove her head against a gatepost.’
Woodward, from Milan, posted on social media earlier this year that she had entered The Priory addiction treatment centre in Woking, Surrey, and is understood to be tackling her use of cocaine.
She is due to return to Oxford Crown Court in September for sentencing. A prison term could result in her being barred from working as a doctor.
Woodward – who is yet to complete her studies – was unavailable for comment.
‘No guarantee of return’