Woman who stabbed husband jailed for 18 years
Cumbria PoliceA woman who stabbed her husband and later attacked a child has been jailed for 18 years.
Jacqueline Mounsey, 53 and from Carlisle, was acquitted of two charges of trying to kill the man and the child, but convicted of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to both victims.
She used a kitchen knife to stab Mark Bennett in the neck as he lay sleeping in June 2024 and later used another knife to attack the child and injure herself, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
Sentencing Mounsey, Judge Nicholas Barker told her the attack on the child would have a "significant impact on their life".
"I accept that you were suffering from depression at the time," he added.
Following the attack, Mr Bennett managed to escape to a neighbour's house and raise the alarm.
One witness who saw Mounsey in the street told her trial in November he had "never seen so much blood" and it was "like a scene from a horror movie".
'Distressing and tragic'
In a statement read to the court, Mr Bennett said: "I have lost everything.
"I am constantly on alert, I rarely leave home and I fear I will live like this for ever.
"As soon as I shut my eyes, I go through everything again."
Judge Barker jailed Mounsey for 18 years for the attack on the child, and eight years for stabbing her husband, with the sentences to run concurrently.
She must serve at least 12 years before being eligible for parole, the judge said.
Det Insp Matthew Belshaw from Cumbria Police said: "This was a distressing and tragic incident.
"Mounsey attacked the man and the child before turning the knife on herself in a bid to blame the man for the injuries.
"This incident will have a lasting impact on those involved as well as the local community."