Jealous husband jailed for attack on rival
A broken-hearted man who stabbed his former neighbour after he ran off with his wife was jailed for a year at Stranraer Sheriff Court this week.
William Robinson, 68, of 31 Thorn Street, Lochans, admitted stabbing George Gardiner repeatedly with a knife on June 7 last year at 39 Lochryan Street, Stranraer.
After the attack, Mr Gardiner was rushed to hospital in Glas- gow so a specialist team of surgeons could repair the damage done to his right forearm.
Procurator fiscal Lyndsay Hunter told the court the accused and his wife had been married for 15 years when she left him for Mr Gardiner. This had caused “considerable angst” to Robinson and he developed a deep dislike of the complainer.
On the night of the assault, Robinson set off armed with a knife and a bottle of vodka in a rucksack. When he arrived at the house in Lochryan Street where his estranged wife and his former neighbour had set up home he walked in and sat down in the sitting room to wait for Mr Gardiner.
When the complainer arrived he immediately saw how agitated the accused was and had tried the “keep him calm” said the fiscal, but Robinson took swig from his vodka, reached into the rucksack for the knife and stabbed Mr Gardiner in the side of the abdomen and across his right arm, causing a deep laceration. Mr Gardiner then staggered into the street where he asked a shocked passer-by for assistance. The emergency services arrived and Robinson was taken into custody.
Defending, agent Robert Fairbairn said this was the fourth time the accused’s wife had left him. On the three previous occasions he had taken her back. She led him to believe she just wanted some “breathing space” but when she sent him a text saying: “Sorry, met someone else and it is George. Hope you find someone who deserves you”, he felt a deep sense of betrayal that led to him sinking into a depressed state and drinking too much. He now felt deep remorse and regret for his actions.
“This is a tragedy with many lives marred, both physically and mentally,” said Mr Faribairn.
Sheriff Kenneth Robb said he “wholly understood” the factors that led the accused down this path but he told Robinson he had gone to the complainer’s house armed with a knife “intent on violence towards him”, adding that the seriousness of the offence meant he had no alternative to a custodial sentence.
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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