MAN STABBED EX-PARTNER'S FRIEND IN 'JEALOUS RAGE'
A man who forced his way into his former partner’s home and launched a frenzied knife attack on her male friend during a "jealous rage" has been sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.Aaron Hinsley, aged 27, had been stalking the woman in the days leading up to the attack, having previously threatened to harm any new partner she might see, Newcastle Crown Court was told.
Despite repeated police warnings to stay away, Hinsley continued to harass the woman, even persuading a neighbour to monitor her visitors.
The violent incident took place while their young children were inside the house.
Hinsley, of Ingram Drive, Blyth, admitted charges of intentional wounding, aggravated burglary, and stalking involving fear of violence.
Prosecutor Sam Faulks said the pair had been in a relationship for around four years before separating in September 2024.
Following the break-up, Hinsley sent a barrage of messages described as "possessive and threatening", including one in which he warned he would “go nuts” and attack both her and anyone she might start dating.
He repeatedly turned up at her home uninvited, ignoring her pleas and two police directives instructing him not to contact her.
Mr Faulks added that Hinsley had convinced a neighbour to inform him if the woman had any visitors.
On the evening of 10 October, he arrived at her property shortly after a male friend had come to visit.
Fearing for their safety, the woman urged the man to hide in a wardrobe upstairs.
Hinsley then kicked and broke down the front door, the court heard, before storming into the house and confronting the pair upstairs.
He pulled a knife from his pocket and repeatedly stabbed the male visitor.
He also lunged at his ex-partner with the blade.
According to Mr Faulks, she believed she would have been stabbed in the lung had her friend not pushed her aside.
The male victim sustained multiple injuries, including stab wounds to his face and shoulder, with one dangerously close to his eye.
Hinsley began recording the victim on his mobile phone before fleeing the scene.
As he left, he also damaged a television in the woman’s bedroom.
In mitigation, defence barrister Ian Cook explained that Hinsley had ceased taking prescribed medication for depression and other mental health conditions, and was instead self-medicating with cocaine, cannabis, and alcohol.
Mr Cook told the court that the defendant was in a “fit of jealous rage,” exacerbated by substance misuse and untreated mental health issues, when he carried out the “appalling attack”.
Recorder Peter Makepeace KC described the stalking behaviour as “nasty” and imposed indefinite restraining orders preventing Hinsley from contacting either of the victims.
