GIRLFRIEND JAILED FOR KILLING PARTNER WITH BROKEN PLATE
A woman named Sarah Lewis, aged 46, of Croxteth Avenue, Seaforth, has been convicted of manslaughter after she killed her boyfriend, Paul Lavelle, with a broken dinner plate shard.During a drunken argument at his flat, Lewis thrust a jagged piece of plate into Mr.
Lavelle’s face, causing a small wound to his nostril.
Despite initial injuries, Mr.
Lavelle did not seek medical assistance and subsequently bled to death slowly, as he did not attempt to treat his wound.
CCTV footage and phone records showed Mr.
Lavelle was active after the incident, including leaving a voicemail saying, "This place is a bloodbath, it's a f***ing bloodbath...I need to go to APH (Arrowe Park Hospital)." The court heard that Lewis had taken photographs of Mr.
Lavelle before leaving the flat and that she deleted his voicemail messages.
The incident was described as deliberate but not premeditated, with the prosecutor stating it was a "deliberate and premeditated attack, not planned but premeditated, in that she threw the plate and shattered it, before picking up the shard." Lewis was initially on trial for murder but accepted a plea to manslaughter, which was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.
During sentencing, the judge expressed that Mr.
Lavelle had not tried to harm Lewis during the attack, and he was satisfied she did not intend to cause his death.
Relatives of Mr.
Lavelle, including his son Jake Lavelle, gave emotional victim impact statements, describing their devastating loss.
Sarah Lewis was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
A statement from Mr.
Lavelle’s family acknowledged the support from police and the community, emphasizing how much Paul Lavelle was loved and will never be forgotten.
