A woman has been jailed for four years and 11 months after slashing a man across the face with a Stanley knife, leaving him permanently scarred.
Gemma Meredith, 41, of Bethel Place, Connah's Quay, North Wales, appeared at Mold Crown Court after admitting wounding with intent, common assault and shoplifting.
The court heard how Meredith swung the Stanley knife at Laurence Carroll, whom she had known for years, after he knocked on her window on April 1, 2026. Mr Carroll had gone to visit a man who lived in the same block of flats as Meredith, in Bethel Place.
Attack and injuries
Meredith swore at the man and slashed him across the face with the blade, leaving a "very large wound" measuring 11cm across his face. Mr Carroll was rushed to hospital where he needed seven stitches and has been left with a permanent scar.
Elen Owen, prosecuting, said that "there had never been any animosity between them" over the years Mr Carroll and Meredith were acquainted. Mr Carroll wasn't sure what she had struck him with, but described it as a "forceful blow", which left him bleeding heavily. He was helped by members of the public and police were called.
Ms Owen said he was taken to Wrexham Maelor Hospital for his face to be stitched. The wound was 11cm in length from the middle of his left cheek to his left eyebrow. It was half a centimetre in depth and 1cm in width at its widest. Mr Carroll was also given antibiotics and treatment for tetanus.
Further incidents and evidence
Meredith claimed to police she had been threatened by the victim and told them "they got the knife", before officers recovered a Stanley Knife blade from her flat - effectively a razor blade. It was analysed with blood DNA matched from the blade to Mr Carroll.
The court also heard that on the same day, on Connah's Quay High Street, after the attack on Mr Carroll, Meredith also punched Richard Morgan in the back of the head, after calling him "a rat" and threatened to "burn his house down," said Ms Owen.
She also pushed Mark Jones over, who uses a walking stick, after he refused to give her a cigarette and shoplifted some items from a local newsagent, valued at about £9, after acting abusively.
Victim impact and sentencing
In a victim impact statement, Mr Carroll said "every day I look in the mirror and hope the scar will go away, but every day I still see it there." He said he felt "paranoid and very self-conscious" about his appearance after the attack and feared something like that may happen again. Her actions had "ruined his life".
Mr Jones, who said he was disabled, experienced a "deterioration in his condition", following the assault and had become "more shaky, and experienced more pain".
Defending, Patrick Gartland, said Meredith suffered with serious mental health problems and had endured issues earlier in her life. Judge Simon Mills accepted Meredith had mental health issues, and had been "subjected to all manner of injustices" in her life, but she had caused a number of problems herself, looking at her previous convictions.
However, her attack on Mr Carroll was "very serious" with a "highly dangerous weapon" and he sentenced her to four years and 11 months in prison. She will serve two thirds in custody with the rest on licence.
She was issued with a restraining order from contacting or approaching Mr Carroll and must pay a statutory surcharge. A forfeiture order was also made for the blade.
