A woman who was assaulted by her drill-wielding neighbour has spoken about the 'permanent visible scars' left on her body.
Jade Kent burst into her neighbour's home and attacked her with a Black and Decker electric drill in a fit of a rage. The 31-year-old pinned the woman to her seat, even as she begged for help, saying: “Please stop, I’m disabled."
Last week, (April 21) Kent, of Lees Street, Abbey Hey, was jailed for five years and four months at Manchester Crown Court. She was originally charged with attempted murder, but has since pleaded guilty to an alternative offence of section 18 wounding with intent and aggravated burglary
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Kent screamed, 'I'm gonna kill you, you hear me?' as she barged into the woman's home and originally placed the drill to her head before it slipped down to her neck. She also punched and kicked the victim as she struggled.
'My own daughter thought I was dead'
In an emotive statement read to the court, the victim, who is registered disabled and uses a mobility scooter, spoke about the physical and mental scars the attack had left on her.
She said: “Now I know that the injuries I sustained from being repeatedly assaulted with a drill have resulted in permanent visible scars on my body. Every time I look in the mirror I am reminded of what Jade did to me.
“I did absolutely nothing to deserve permanent scarring on my body. The pain and shock caused by these physical wounds were bad enough at the time, but the permanent scars serve as a constant reminder of a violent, unprovoked attack in my own home.”
She said the mental impact of the attack on both herself and her daughter has been ‘unbearable’.
“Each time I tried to enter the room I would have flashbacks about what happened. These flashbacks lead to panic attacks and anxiety attacks because I cannot rationalise what happened to me in that room, on that day,” she said.
“I have tried to get assistance from professionals to reverse the impact that this has had on my mental health, however, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relax in my own home again.
“A bang outside can cause a panic attack and sleepless night after sleepless night, for both myself and my daughter. I am disabled and unable to work, but whilst I am at home I am in a constant state of being over alert, stressed and panicked.”
The woman said her carer has had to move in full time as she struggles to be alone in the house. She added that she had since begun the process of moving house.
Of her daughter, she said: “I am acutely aware that my struggles to come to terms with what has been witnessed by my daughter. She is trying to deal with her own emotions and reactions to me being attacked - she thought I was dead.
“To hear my daughter say she thought I was dead fills me with emotions that I cannot describe. It is something a young child should never have to experience.
“This attack did not end when Jade left my house, nor when I left hospital eight days after I was attacked. I am having to give up my home. For me, the physical and emotional effects of what Jade did to me are ongoing and will continue to do so for a long time into the future.”
In court, Kent was said to have previous convictions, the majority of which were committed when she was a youth.
Mitigating, Rachel Shenton said: “This was a truly horrible incident and must have been terrifying for the complainant. The defendant is the first to acknowledge that.
“It was a moment of madness, a loss of control, she was intoxicated.”
Ms Shenton said her client accepted that binge drinking was an issue. She added that Kent was building flat pack furniture in her daughter’s bedroom at the time.
“She tells me: “I hate everything about this, everything about what I did. I would do anything to go back in time.”
Kent, of Lees Street, Abbey Hey, was jailed for five years and four months, of which she will serve two thirds of her sentence in prison. She was also made the subject of a restraining order preventing her from contacting the victim indefinitely.
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