Scissors attack man given life sentence (From Western Telegraph)

Scissors attack man given life sentence

A FORMER schoolboy boxing champion from Pembrokeshire has been given a life sentence for attacking his wife with a pair of scissors.

Christopher Parsley was found guilty of attempted murder after leaving his wife Trudie Parsley lying in a pool of blood as horrified shoppers looked on.

Parsley, aged 37, was caught on CCTV cameras stabbing his wife 17 times and punching and kicking her to the ground, but said he couldnt remember the incident.

Mrs Parsley was taken to Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, with stab wounds to her head, arms, body and legs.

Parsley had told Swansea Crown Court: I only realised something was wrong when I saw my wifes face covered in blood and the pair of scissors in my hand.

I wasnt angry when I attacked her. Everything just seemed to go quiet and that is when I blacked out. When I black out like that I think Im a child again and my father is hitting me.

Customers and three shop assistants at the Spar shop in Monkton, Pembroke, looked on helplessly as Mrs Parsley was left covered in blood following the incident.

She told how she crawled into the store and pleaded for help after Parsley, of Owen Street, Pennar, Pembroke Dock, had confronted her outside. He had been waiting for her arrival, the prosecution claimed. But Parsley claimed shop assistants should have held him back.

He said: The people in the shop should have stopped me, especially the men. They could easily have done so and then this would never have happened.

Mrs Parsley had claimed that on January 22nd, 2002, Parsley had become jealous of her ex-boyfriend and lost his head after seeing her with him.

She said: He punched and kicked me to the floor and said I dont care if they take my children, Ive got nothing to lose.

People looked on and didnt know what to do. Some of them even went to another room at the back of the shop to protect themselves, she said. He was like a madman. I then grabbed the scissors and threw them across the floor.

For the prosecution, Elwen Evans QC said: He wanted to make sure that if he couldnt have her nobody would want her in the state he would leave her.

One of the shop assistants shouted Youre being filmed but he didnt seem to care.

He had very little recollection of what he had done when shown the bloody scissors and said they must be covered with tomato sauce. In an uncontrollable state of mind he even claimed he was acting in self-defence, said Ms Evans QC.

He made it clear that he would never accept any other man with his children.

Mr and Mrs Parsley had been married for five years but separated in December 2001.