Two sisters have been sentenced to prison after a shocking and sustained attack on a friend, following a nine-hour drinking session during a birthday celebration in Chester.
A Night of Celebration Turns Violent
Charlotte Whitham, 34, and her sister Katrina, 30, had been out in Chester, Cheshire, on August 3 this year to mark Katrina's birthday. After consuming alcohol for most of the day, a dispute erupted between the pair and their 38-year-old friend. The argument escalated into a horrific physical assault, captured in graphic detail by CCTV cameras.
The footage showed the sisters attacking the woman on two separate occasions. After initially walking away, Charlotte was seen slamming the victim to the ground after she shouted at them. Katrina then proceeded to punch the defenceless woman 23 times in the face.
The Brutal Details of the Assault
The violence did not stop there. Shocking CCTV evidence presented in court revealed that Katrina stamped on the victim's arm twice in an attempt to break it, before trampling on her head. Bystanders were forced to intervene and rush to the aid of the unconscious woman, who was left seriously injured in the middle of Chester city centre.
Cheshire Police tracked down and arrested the sisters within just 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. Charlotte refused to answer questions and declined to watch the damning CCTV footage of the incident.
Court Sentencing and Police Condemnation
Despite initially refusing involvement, both sisters eventually pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm on Friday, November 7. They appeared at Chester Crown Court on December 17, where they were each jailed for two years and eight months.
Detective Constable Tim Butler, who led the investigation, condemned the sisters' actions. "This nasty and violent assault doled out by Katrina and Charlotte Whitham resulted in someone they considered to be their friend left alone and unconscious in the middle of Chester city centre with very serious injuries," he said.
"I hope they spend their time behind bars to seriously consider their actions and what it means to be someone’s friend. Their actions, obviously fuelled by the amount of alcohol they had consumed during the day of the incident, now means that they will be spending Christmas away from their respective families."
The case stands as a stark warning of how alcohol-fuelled violence and a single decision can have devastating and long-lasting repercussions for all involved.
