2007: SAMURAI SWORD MAN JAILED
A man who attacked his estranged wife with a decorative Samurai sword ended up injuring her stomach after piercing her clothing.Kevan Ledbury had been hospitalized following an overdose caused by depression but returned to the family home while his two-year-old son and another child were present.
He became enraged when asked to leave, Worcester Crown Court heard.
During the confrontation, Deborah Ledbury managed to take the sword from him, but he retrieved another sword from above the mantelpiece, raising it and threatening to decapitate her, according to prosecutor Gareth Walters.
The woman and their children eventually escaped to a neighbor’s residence.
Police later found Ledbury in a barn after he had jumped into a river.
He had exhibited aggressive behavior towards his wife on two prior occasions and had a previous conviction for assaulting his ex-wife Susan.
Judge Alistair McCreath indicated that 37-year-old Ledbury, formerly residing on Leys Road in Harvington near Evesham, was a threat to women in relationships.
He sentenced Ledbury to two and a half years in prison with a public protection order and extended his license for life.
The parole board will decide if he can be released before serving the full term.
After being discharged from hospital, Ledbury stayed with his sister but visited his wife on March 6 at Leys Road.
During that visit, the first sword cut the mother of three’s stomach, and he then held the second against her neck, threatening to kill her because she hated him.
Mrs.
Ledbury became hysterical but begged him to calm down, which he eventually did.
Defense lawyer William Rickarby stated that Ledbury, who pleaded guilty to causing actual bodily harm and making a death threat, was suffering from clinical depression following his mother's sudden death.
He worked seven days a week, but their marriage, which lasted four years, was deteriorating.
Feeling rejected and too embarrassed to seek help from family, he did not disclose his struggles.
The couple acknowledged their relationship was over, though Mrs.
Ledbury wished to remain friends.
She had written to him while he was in jail.
