A cocaine-fuelled woman launched a frenzied kitchen knife attack on her boyfriend of four days after telling him: "I'm going to kill you." Shannon Sadler started acting as if she was 'possessed' after boozing and taking drugs.
Her partner woke on the sofa following a McDonald's trip to find the 22-year-old throttling him. Sadler bit him, before she punched him and reached for a blade.
The man, who was stabbed in the arm, later told cops he thought he would have been killed had he not raised his arms in self-defence. Sadler was later apologetic, saying: "I ain't a bad person."
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She then asked: "I'm going to prison, aren't I?" Sadler, from Brinnington, Stockport, moaned when cops seized the blood-stained knife as evidence as it 'spoiled' her kitchen set.
She even accused police of 'unlawful entry' when they rushed to her flat. Sadler, of Blackberry Avenue, found herself in the dock at Manchester Crown Court. She's now been jailed for two years and 11 months.
Initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, she later pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
The court earlier heard she had known the lad for a number of years, but had only been together for four days before the attack. They both drank and took cocaine before she started acting as if she was 'possessed'.
"She told him 'I'm going to kill you, and I don’t want to kill you, as you’re the youngest in the group," Alaric Bassano, prosecuting, said.
Speaking about the attack the next morning, following a fast food run, Mr Bassano said Sadler and her partner were asleep on the sofa. He added: "The complainant awoke to Sadler on top of him strangling him with both hands tightly around his neck, rendering it difficult for him to breathe.
"He defensively took hold of her arms to protect his neck, causing her to bite his left forearm. They struggled on the floor. Sadler punched him on the nose, and was on top of him when she reached for a kitchen knife that was on the living room floor.
"The defendant wielded the knife as a weapon and aimed blows with the knife towards his chest. He put his arm up to protect himself and one of the blows stabbed him in the arm."
He later told police he feared that he might have been killed had he not raised his arm in defence. When he began feeling like he was losing consciousness, Sadler stopped and became apologetic, saying she to go to prison and asked him to stay with her.
She called for an ambulance and told them he injured himself in a suicide attempt. While in hospital, the victim told her over text a doctor said that if he didn't call the police, hospital staff would.
She responded: "I ain’t a bad person," adding: "I'm going to prison, aren't I?"
Police visited the victim a few days later to take a statement. He said to them: "She was a good friend, I just don’t understand what’s happened."
He added: "I think she's got something wrong with her, she's not right in the head, she needs serious help."
Sadler was arrested initially for attempted murder. She denied she was guilty asked the officers: "Do you know how long a sentence that is?" During one interview, she denied the blood stains found in her flat were actually blood, accused cops of having unlawfully entered her flat, and, when asked about the knife which had been seized, blamed officers for spoiling her set.
The lad was left with injuries including a bite mark and knife wound to his left forearm.
'I still care about her, but I just don't know why she did this to me'
In a statement, the lad said: "It's hard because Shannon Sadler was a friend who I have known for years, and I still care about her, but I just don’t know why she did this to me. I think that she needs help and think that she shouldn’t be allowed to do this to anyone else."
He added that he is unable to write properly or do day-to-day tasks, and gets intrusive thoughts when he sees knives.
Sadler was said to have 32 offences on her record, including 15 assaults.
Psychiatric reports from both the prosecution and defence confirmed Sadler had an ‘extremely troubled childhood’, that she had mental health issues and had abused drugs for some time.
Her barrister, Milena Bennett said: "She was suffering with mental illness at the time. She approached various organisations for help, and she believes she had ADHD.
"She wants to focus on getting herself better. She is now a different person."
Sentencing, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls said: "I don’t believe psychological issues were the root cause of your offending. I accept you have mental health issues.
"It’s absolutely in your interest to seize the opportunities given to you. Unless you continue to seize them, you will continue to react and respond in an inappropriate fashion and continue to find yourself entangled in the criminal justice system.
"Just because you had a difficult start in life, doesn’t mean you cannot turn your life around."
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