A jilted lover has been jailed for six years after he “snapped” and brutally stabbed his ex-partner – with a POTATO PEELER.
Care home worker Steven Earle, 53, attacked Cheryl Thrower, 55, as she went to make coffee at the home they previously shared in Kettering, Northants.
A court heard the couple – who met at a residential home where they both worked – had been together for six years and had been on good terms since their break-up.
But the dad-of-two said he “just snapped” and stabbed his former girlfriend with the six inch kitchen utensil as he visited the property to discuss dividing up their belongings on August 28.
After the unprovoked assault, Earle dialled 999 himself to call an ambulance and told police they could find him at a nearby community centre.
Police discovered Miss Thrower lying in a pool of blood from a stab wound to her lower back and another which punctured her abdomen.
She was rushed to Walsgrave Hospital in Coventry where medics discovered one of the injuries had caused a small laceration to her kidney.
Earle, from Kettering, admitted wounding with intent when he appeared at Northampton Crown Court.
Jailing him for six years and four months, Judge Rupert Mayo said: “You have admitted a serious assault on your partner of six years.
“You used a weapon to inflict these injuries.
“While short-lived, this was a sustained and repeated assault on the same person.”
The court heard Earle and Miss Thrower had worked together at a residential care home for the elderly in Kettering.
He launched his vicious assault despite their amicable split earlier this year.
Prosecutor Neil Bannister said Miss Thrower attempted to stem the blood flow by using a tea towel.
He said: “She grabbed a kitchen towel as she was starting to bleed quite heavily.
“Police noticed a great deal of blood on the carpet.
“The defendant called the police and he made admissions as to stabbing his partner.
“He said he just snapped.”
Mr Bannister also said Miss Thrower was discharged from hospital after four days and that her injuries were not life-threatening.
Earle, who had no previous convictions, was described in character references as “hard-working, reliable and honest”.
He was given credit by the judge for for having led a “useful life” in bringing up his two children on his own, for the remorse shown and for calling the emergency services himself.
He will serve up to half the sentence in custody before being released on licence.