Two sisters have been sentenced to prison for a vicious and sustained attack on a friend, captured in horrifying detail on CCTV, following a marathon nine-hour drinking session in Chester.
A Night Out Turns Violent
The violent incident unfolded on August 3 of this year in Chester city centre. The group, including sisters Charlotte Whitham, 34, and Katrina Whitham, 30, had been out celebrating Katrina's birthday. After spending approximately nine hours drinking, an argument erupted, escalating into a brutal physical assault on their 38-year-old female friend.
Shocking CCTV footage obtained by police shows the sisters attacking the victim on two separate occasions. After initially walking away, Charlotte is seen slamming the woman to the ground after she shouted at them. Katrina then proceeded to punch the defenceless victim 23 times in the face.
The Brutal Details of the Assault
The violence did not stop there. The footage further captured the sisters kneeling on their friend, pulling her hair, and stamping on her arm twice in an attempt to break it. In a final act of cruelty, Katrina trampled on the woman's head as she lay unconscious on the street. The attack only ceased when alarmed passers-by rushed to intervene and help the injured victim.
Cheshire Police responded swiftly, tracking down and arresting the Whitham sisters within a remarkable 13 minutes of the assault being reported. During her arrest, Katrina was heard saying, "oh yeah, I have done that", in reference to the attack, though she later denied admitting guilt in police interviews.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
At Chester Crown Court on December 17, both Charlotte and Katrina Whitham were sentenced for assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Despite initially refusing involvement—with Charlotte answering "no comment" to all questions and refusing to watch the damning CCTV—both eventually pleaded guilty on Friday, November 7.
The judge handed down prison sentences of two years and eight months to each sister. Detective Constable Tim Butler, who led the investigation, stated the "nasty and violent assault" left a friend with serious injuries, alone and unconscious in the city centre.
"I hope they spend their time behind bars to seriously consider their actions and what it means to be someone’s friend," DC Butler said. "This case goes to show how a snap decision to turn to violence, obviously fuelled by alcohol, can have serious repercussions. Their actions now mean they will be spending Christmas away from their respective families."
