Knifeman jailed for life for stabbing partner in the head

A dangerous offender has been jailed for life for stabbing his girlfriend in the head during a drunken street attack.
Anthony Friend.Anthony Friend.
Anthony Friend.

Anthony Friend carried out the violence just eight months after being released from prison for an almost identical attack on a previous partner.

Leeds Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of Friend using a kitchen knife to slash the woman on Coach Road, Outwood, Wakefield, on October 10 last year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The court heard Friend and the woman were both under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, which took place at 9.45am on a Monday morning.

Members of the public contacted emergency services after seeing the woman in the street with a stab wound.

Paramedics arrived at the scene and found the victim in a garden.

She suffered a six-inch wound from her temple across the back of her head and needed hospital treatment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Friend, 44, was arrested nearby and was abusive to police officers.

A camera on a house overlooking the scene captured the incident.

Friend, of Longroyd Street, Beeston, Leeds, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of an offensive weapon.

Friend has previous convictions for violence dating back to 1988.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He was made the subject of an indeterminate sentence in 2007 for slashing a former partner across the throat while drunk.

The court heard the parole board approved Friend’s release from prison for that offence in February last year.

Michael Collins, mitigating, said Friend carried out the attack after he began drinking and taking drugs.

Mr Collins said: “He is a man with a long history of drug and alcohol problems and he was dealing those problems until this offence in October 2016.

“He accepts that he stupidly reverted to type.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Judge Tom Bayliss, QC, imposed a life sentence and ordered that Friend must serve a minimum of five years in custody.

He warned Friend that it was likely that he would spend much longer in prison and would only be released when he is no longer considered a danger to the public.

Judge Bayliss added: “I am not sure there would be many judge who would not conclude that he is dangerous.”

Related topics: