NURSERY NURSE DEMI HARRIS JAILED FOR EIGHT YEARS FOR KILLING HER PARTNER AFTER HOT TUB PARTY ROW
A nursery nurse who killed her partner after a drunken row at a hot-tub party at her Nottinghamshire home had her jail term slashed by top judges.Demi Harris, 22, knifed Christopher Pearson, 39, to death in the bedroom at their home in Hucknall, in February last year.
Both were "quite drunk" and Harris was angry when her partner stripped to get into a hot-tub with other friends.
She went out to confront him, was dragged into the water fully clothed by a male guest, and poured pool cleaner into the hot-tub before turning it off.
Mr.
Pearson then attacked her, and she claimed she acted in fear, taking hold of a knife and stabbing him twice.
The jury accepted she did not intend to cause serious injury but rejected her self-defence claim.
She was originally jailed for eight years.
However, after a challenge at the Court of Appeal in London, top judges reduced Harris' sentence to six years, stating "We have concluded that the judge imposed a sentence which was too long." The court highlighted that her relationship with Mr.
Pearson was "somewhat volatile" and that the attack was not premeditated.
Mrs.
Justice Cockerill noted she was "remorseful" immediately afterwards, and the attack was not premeditated.
Harris, of Strathmore Close, was young and the use of a knife was already considered in her original sentence, which was found to be excessive and was therefore reduced.
Appealing the sentence, Harris claimed her mitigation was not fully taken into account, and her lawyers argued that too much emphasis was placed on her use of the knife.
The judge acknowledged her remorse and the lack of premeditation, ultimately substituting her sentence to six years' imprisonment.
