| Woman jailed over fatal Qld axe attack |
|
|
|
|
A woman has been sentenced to nine years' jail for beating her partner to death with an axe. Emma Louise Ney, 29, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in Brisbane to the manslaughter of 52-year-old Graham Haynes. The court was told Ney attacked Mr Haynes at their home at Acacia Ridge, in Brisbane's south, on April 1, 2007. She used the back of a large axe to hit him three times in the head, chipping off parts of his skull and causing his brain to burst. Prosecutor Ben Power told the court Mr Haynes survived in a coma for two days before dying in hospital. Ney initially lied to police, saying she had returned home to find Mr Haynes lying in a pool of blood after being attacked while she was out. She later admitted to striking him, saying he had been bullying her. Ney told a psychiatrist Mr Haynes had punched her in the nose earlier in the night. However the court was told there was no evidence he had been violent immediately prior to her attack. She also told the psychiatrist their relationship had often been abusive prior to that night. Acting Justice Julie Dick said that without any evidence to support this allegation, she could not be satisfied that this was true. However she said she did accept that Ney, whose history of abuse with other men had caused her post-traumatic stress and the development of a borderline personality disorder, held that perception of her relationship with Mr Haynes. She sentenced Ney to nine years' jail. Ney will be able to apply for parole immediately, having already served 965 days in pre-sentence custody. © 2011 AAP |
LATEST NEWS
© 2008-2015 Brain Injury Centre