A woman who slashed her much larger former boyfriend in the face with a knife received a suspended sentence in Red Deer Court of Queen’s Bench on Tuesday.
Kathleen Stephanie McNeil, 37, was handed an 18-month suspended sentence with probation when she pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon.
She had been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a weapon dangerous to the peace following the Feb. 1, 2009, incident in the Spruce View area.
The possession charge was dropped by Crown prosecutor Jason Snider while the aggravated assault charge was reduced to the lesser but included offence of assault with a weapon.
McNeil, who now lives in Medicine Hat, is also prohibited from owning or possessing weapons for 10 years and must surrender a sample of her DNA to authorities.
Snider said McNeil and the victim, who is about 20 cm taller and weighs about 135 kg more than the accused, had been involved in a tumultuous relationship.
On Feb. 1, the pair had been drinking beer and went for a drive in the early afternoon.
A physical and verbal argument broke out and the victim stopped and dragged McNeil out of the vehicle and left her on the side of the road about three km from the nearest residence.
She suffered bruises and road rash, Justice Kirk Sisson heard.
McNeil got a ride back to her residence and confronted the victim again.
During the altercation, McNeil grabbed an open pocketknife on a table with a five-cm-long blade and slashed the victim in the face. The small wound resulted in a substantial amount of blood loss, requiring hospitalization.
Defence lawyer Michael Scrase said his client was clearly the loser when the couple became involved in previous confrontations.
jwilson@www.reddeeradvocate.com