A Bega woman who pleaded guilty to a shopping centre stabbing that left a woman fighting for life has been sentenced to more than five years jail.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Dressed in a white blouse and sitting quietly in the dock of Bega District Court for much of the proceedings, Samantha Joyce Perry cried and hugged friends and family before being led away by NSW Corrections officers on Friday - the day before her 28th birthday.
Judge Dina Yehia handed Perry an overall sentence of five years and three months jail, with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.
In NSW, the charge of intent to cause grievous bodily harm carries a maximum penalty of 25 years’ imprisonment.
With time already served she will be eligible for parole in early 2019.
While handing down her sentence, Judge Yehia outlined the unusual and special circumstances surrounding the case.
She said Perry and the victim, who were known to each other, had crossed paths inside Sapphire Marketplace on April 23, where they got into a verbal confrontation.
Perry left without incident and visited Bega Police Station, however left after it appeared to be shut, continuing home where she told her mother about the incident.
At Perry's mother's suggestion, the two women drove back to the shopping centre in separate cars. Perry meantime, had armed herself with a knife taken from her vehicle.
The two women confronted the victim inside Big W.
There was a short argument between the women before Perry stabbed the victim in the neck with a 20cm tomato knife.
The knife penetrated her carotid artery and entered her airway, leaving her fighting for her life.
“If it was not for her mother returning I believe the accused would not have returned to the shopping centre,” Judge Yehia said.
Judge Yehia noted that neither Perry nor her mother stayed to help the victim who was “coughing up a large amount of blood”.
However she commended Perry for “immediately” handing herself into police.
She found Perry had not planned the stabbing, but had lost self control after an insult.
Judge Yehia said Perry had a number of compelling factors in her favour, noting she had a deprived childhood and had been exposed to violence and abuse.