A Co Antrim man who stabbed his ex-partner 30 times in front of their three-year old daughter while he was using steroids has been jailed for 15 years.
Stephen David John McFarlane (34), from Glenville Park, Newtownabbey was handed a 15-year sentence for attempting to murder the 28-year old mother of two, who was left with life-changing injuries, on January 13th, 2016.
Belfast Crown Court heard that when police arrived at her Carnmoney home after receiving a 999 call, they found her lying in a pool of blood in the living room. A crying toddler in the room told officers “bad Daddy.”
The seriously injured woman was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital, where she was treated for stab wounds to her head, chest, abdomen, neck and back.
Telling the court “she could easily have died”, a Crown prosector noted the woman sustained “multiple stab wounds to her cervical region”.
She also had a large wound close to her jugular vein, and was stabbed “at least nine times” in the chest. She also suffered collapsed lungs, sustained an injury to her spinal cord and required emergency surgery.
McFarlane, a mechanic, admitted attempting to murder his former partner, damaging her property and stealing petrol and driving dangerously when on the run after the attack.
Jailing him, Judge Geoffrey Miller noted the physical and psychological impact the attack has had upon his victim, who had to learn to walk again and who suffers from flashbacks.
During the sentencing, the court heard McFarlane has already served a sentence for a previous attack on a former girlfriend.