A 41-year-old woman, formerly from Estevan but now residing in Moose Jaw, pleaded guilty in Estevan Provincial Court on Monday to a charge of assault causing bodily harm, in which she stabbed her husband in the back with a steak knife.
This was a reduced charge from the count of aggravated assault which she had initially been facing.
Estevan Mercury editorial policy is to not identify offenders in domestic violence situations that would also identify the victim.
The guilty plea came as part of a joint submission between the Crown and defence. In this case, the Crown was represented by Mitch Crumley and the defence by Tim McLeod.
The incident occurred at an Estevan residence on June 30, 2018.
Crumley explained that the man and woman were arguing. She threw spoons at him, and he then saw her turn to the kitchen sink. As he turned to leave, “he learned he was stabbed in the back by a steak knife,” Crumley said.
The man went to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was treated and released. Subsequent treatment involved packing the wound with gauze so that it would heal from the inside out.
“It penetrated six centimetres into the back of the complainant,” Crumley told Judge Margaret Gordon.
“She’s had a long relationship with anger to the complainant,” he went on to say. Crumley noted that the woman’s skin on her knuckles had been scraped from “punching a wall.”
The joint submission called for a 10-month conditional sentence order (CSO), with the first six months essentially being house arrest. Those first six months would see a 24-hour curfew, with exemptions for employment, child care and parental responsibilities.
Crumley acknowledged, “It’s on the lower side,” with regards to the length of the sentence, but said the woman had sought treatment on her own.
In addition to standard conditions, the CSO would include assessment for domestic violence programming, a 10-year weapons prohibition, an order to supply DNA, and not to possess any weapons, including knives, except for eating or preparing a meal.
Gordon pointed out “not to put too fine a point on it.”
She is also not to have contact with the victim except through a third party, and to arrange child custody and support. It was pointed out the two are currently going through a custody battle.
McLeod said that in more than nine months that have passed since the incident, the woman had completed a domestic violence program, and has found the personal counselling she has taken empowering. She also participates in a women’s group. She’s also looking into parenting classes.
While the proceedings noted there were two children involved, and neither was present during the incident, the woman is now living in Moose Jaw with one 11-year-old with special needs. She is that child’s sole provider.
As for what he called the “lowlights” of the pre-sentence report, McLeod said, “It’s not a small thing. It’s certainly a serious incident.”
He said the context of the incident was that she felt emotionally and psychologically abused. “She felt trapped,” McLeod said.
He pointed out that she had told police, “All I can say is I snapped. He was using ugly words and he was running me down for seeing counsellors.”
McLeod added, “She intentionally and deliberately thrust a knife into her husband,” but then said, “She is not a violent person. She reacted violently.”
Pointing to their custody and support battle, McLeod said, “It is doubtful they will ever share the same space again.”
He said she accepts full responsibility.
There was no victim impact statement submitted.
When asked by Gordon if there was anything she wanted to say, the woman, speaking very quietly, appeared to say, “I just want to say I’m sorry, your honour.”
With that, Gordon noted she should usually accept a joint submission unless doing so would put the justice system in disrepute.
Gordon said, “This type of violent conduct, especially in a domestic situation, and it doesn’t matter which way it is, needs to be denounced.”
Addressing the woman, Gordon said, “You’re 41 years of age, and this is your first offence. Quite frankly, that speaks volumes that this is out of character for you.”
She added, “You’ve had to deal with a lot of trauma, certainly in your family.”
The judge pointed out the relationship between the husband and wife had not been good for years. “Here, you did have a weapon. Yes, it’s only a steak knife, but in the hands of an angry person, it can do a lot of harm,” she said.
Gordon gave the woman full credit for the positive steps she had taken, and that she was open to counselling. She also has a lot of responsibilities with the child she cares for.
“I am going to follow the joint submission,” Gordon said, and sentenced the woman to the conditions listed above.
