Stabbing In Neck At Party

Newcastle Herald

Friday December 12, 2008

By INGRID BOWN

A TEENAGER was given a suspended jail term yesterday for stabbing a young man in the neck with a pocket knife at her 19th birthday party.

Alesha Paul, of Kline Street, Weston, pleaded guilty in Newcastle Local Court to reckless wounding.

A prosecution statement said Paul was celebrating her birthday on March 25 at her aunt's home.

Between 8pm and 8.30pm the victim and a friend arrived. Both had been drinking heavily and continued drinking shots of spirits.

The victim was being antagonistic during the night, which was upsetting Paul, the statement said.

During an altercation in the front yard, Paul said she pushed the victim and told him to wake up to himself. He allegedly grabbed her by the hair and pushed her into the ground. She said she bit him on the leg, he let go and she stabbed him with a knife she carried in her pocket.

Paul was affected by both alcohol and antidepressants, she said.

The victim, who received a single puncture wound to the neck which partially severed an artery, could not remember the incident.

"[The victim] is very lucky that he did not die," magistrate Elaine Truscott said.

She said what was particularly disturbing about the incident was that Paul was sentenced 20 days beforehand in Cessnock court for another drunken altercation.

Ms Truscott said Paul seemed to be dealing with a history of abuse by "over-reliance on alcohol". She had since completed an eight-week addiction program and had seen a psychologist.

The offence was so serious that jail was called for, but Ms Truscott said she would suspend a nine-month term given Paul's age and rehabilitation prospects.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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