Posted on 05/06/2006 11:20:58 AM PDT by aculeus
A woman who stabbed her husband's former mistress 18 times in a jealous rage was cleared of attempted murder yesterday.
Alethea Foster, 61, gasped and stumbled in the dock after a jury of nine women and three men acquitted her of intentionally trying to kill or harm Julie Simpson, 45, a mature student at Cambridge University, last October.
But she was sentenced to 30 months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm after stabbing her in the neck, face, head, chest and back, leaving her with a punctured lung, blind in one eye and disfigured for life.
Cambridge Crown Court heard that Foster, who until her retirement was chief podiatrist at King's College Hospital, London, launched the attack after she uncovered e-mails suggesting Miss Simpson had been having a 16-year affair with John, 58, her husband of 35 years.
Foster looked dazed as Judge Gareth Hawkesworth told her he had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence for the injuries she had caused. She was ordered to serve 15 months.
The judge said: "The harm involved cutting and stabbing her 18 times with a knife, leaving her with disabilities which will remain with her for the rest of her life, and scarring her both physically and no doubt mentally.
"I accept undoubtedly that you acted out of character. By the jury's verdict it is plain that you did not take the knife with you to attack Julie Simpson. It is equally plain that you were depressed, and that there is every likelihood had you not been depressed this would never had happened.
"There are many victims, not just Julie Simpson. There is also your husband and I have no doubt that in your normal frame of mind you wouldn't have been able to cause harm to another being."
Foster, of Bromley, south-east London, was portrayed as a woman unable to come to terms with her husband's infidelity and betrayal. The jury heard that on Oct 3 last year she travelled to Cambridge to meet Miss Simpson, a close family friend, in her room at Lucy Cavendish College.
Before leaving home, she had wrapped a kitchen knife in tissue paper and put it in her handbag.
During their discussion she remembered Miss Simpson laughing before feeling "this great wave of disgust and irritation". She grabbed the knife and attacked Miss Simpson.
Foster, who had denied attempted murder, claimed that she had no recollection of the attack. She said she took the knife with the intention of taking her own life in front of Miss Simpson.
Outside court, Mr Foster, a retired BBC political correspondent, said: "I still find it almost impossible to believe that the kind, caring and gentle woman with whom I have lived for the best part of 40 years could be capable of doing such a thing.
"The bail conditions have prevented me from seeing or speaking to my wife for almost six months. It's right that I should talk to her privately before making any decisions about the future."
No more than Natalie Wood.
The fact that the woman was engaged in infidelity with her husband should have been an afirmative defense against the deeds of that day.
At least thats the way it used to be.
I agree the fact that this went to trial is indeed another example of the decline of civilization.
2 sides 2 every story
One man's gloom is another man's glory
Sun 2 a shadow, rose 2 a thorn
Ain't no fury like a woman scorned
Ain't no fury like a woman scorned
No fury like a woman scorned
Okay, now that's going overboard.
That's a fair comment, but I would submit that the juries are made up of a cross section of our populace. That they can't rationalize better than this does say something about our society at large. It isn't pretty.
Should infidelity be a reason for ending a marriage? Of course. Should it warrant the death penalty? I don't think so. It is wrong. It's a betrayal of mate and family. I just don't think it's worth killing someone over. That person, by their actions, has demonstrated that they aren't worth the trouble. Write them off...
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