Woman escapes jail for stabbing friend in face with fork
18/04/2012 - 17:39:57A young mother stabbed her friend in the face with a fork, leaving her with permanent scar, a court has heard
Karina Lester (aged 24) was given a nine-month suspended sentence for stabbing Claire Kane three times in the face after the victim arrived at her house to discuss a row the pair had through texting and Facebook entries.
Lester of St Anthony’s, Myrtle Avenue in Dun Laoghaire pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to production of a fork during the course of a dispute at her home on August 25, 2010.
Garda William Brosnan told prosecuting counsel Melanie Greally BL, deterioration in the friendship between Lester and Ms Kane happened three months prior to the incident.
“There was an exchange of texts and Facebook entries of an unpleasant nature between the two and certain allegations of rumours being spread about Lester’s boyfriend,” explained Gda Brosnan.
An entry on Ms Kane’s Facebook page in August prompted her to go to Lester’s house for a “shouting match” to resolve their issues.
Ms Kane arrived at Lester’s house at around 11pm while Lester and her boyfriend were eating a Chinese takeaway.
Ms Kane knocked on the sitting room window and when Lester’s boyfriend went outside, the woman demanded to see Lester to ask why she was spreading rumours about her.
“Both women started shouting at each other, calling each other ‘knackers’ and ‘fat ugly bitch’ when Ms Kane attempted to throw a punch at Ms Lester but hit her boyfriend instead on the nose,” said Gda Brosnan.
Both Lester and her boyfriend went indoors and Ms Kane started to throw pebbles at the window resulting in Lester returning outside where, according to Gda Brosnan, “they went for each other in a full-on row.”
Lester brought the fork she was eating her dinner with outside with her and inflicted facial injuries including a three-centimetre cut to the victim’s cheek and a one centimetre cut to her upper lip, all of which required stitches.
Lester’s counsel Justin McQuade BL said the mother of three children realised she should not have brought the fork outside with her but “wasn’t thinking at the time.”
“She is now remorseful and the victim, Ms Kane, has indicated she just wishes to move on with her life,” said Mr McQuade.
Judge Patrick McCartan suspended the sentence for three years and said the offence was a “serious matter as a fork was used to leave permanent scars on the face of Ms Kane.”
“But it has to be said, Ms Kane was to some degree the instigator and there was a long history between the pair, which has now abated as both are staying apart from each other,” the judge continued.
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