Westhill mum spared jail after stabbing husband

A mum who tried to murder her husband in a bloody knife attack has avoided being sent to prison after a judge heard her partner plead for leniency.

Grace Fullerton, 61, assaulted Iain, her spouse of 29 years, at their home in Westhill, Aberdeen in 2016.

The high court heard how Mrs Fullerton attacked Iain because he was an alcoholic who was going out to drive drunk.

Mrs Fullerton, who was suffering mental illness at the time of the incident, then left Iain with a partially collapsed lung and an exposed tendon in his hand.

The business consultant also required 33 stitches and was left permanently disfigured following the murder bid.

The court heard that Mrs Fullerton attacked her husband as she was attempting to commit suicide.

Following her arrest, Mrs Fullerton told police that she "may have saved someone's life" by stabbing him to stop him from drink driving. She was convicted of attempted murder following trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in Decmber 2017.

On Tuesday, judge Lord Ericht sentenced Mrs Fullerton to 300 hours community service. He also ordered Mrs Fullerton to be supervised by the authorities for three years.

Passing sentence, judge Lord Ericht said he was partly persuaded to impose the sentence after reading a letter which was written to the court by Iain.

Reading an extract of the letter written by Mr Fullerton, Lord Ericht said that other members of their family had also sent letters supporting Grace.

Her defence counsel Lili Prais had told the judge that the couple continued to be "deeply in love" with each other.

Lord Ericht said : "I have received a letter of support from your son Matthew. Finally, I have received a letter from your husband, the man you attempted to murder.

"He states: 'I am the victim of the crime that Grace has been found guilty of, and as such I want to make it very clear, in the strongest terms, that I do not want Grace to suffer a prison sentence.

"I would feel more pain, should this happen, than I felt during the original incident. It would feel as thought I have been hurt all over again.

"'A prison sentence will not benefit anyone. I beg that the court returns Grace to me so we can try to rebuild our lives together.'"

Lord Ericht then told Mrs Fullerton: "Grace Fullerton, you have no previous convictions therefore you have never served a custodial sentence.

"Before I imposed a sentence of imprisonment for this offence, I would require to be satisfied that no other method of dealing with you is appropriate.

"A crime such as the one you committed should not go unpunished and I do not intend that it should go unpunished.

"However, having regard to all of what I have said, the circumstances of your case are highly exceptional. I have concluded that it is not unnecessary to impose a custodial sentence."

Upon hearing the judge's verdict, Mrs Fullerton, who was standing in the dock, started crying. Her husband, who was sitting in the public benches shouted: "Thank God."

During proceedings last year, Mr Fullerton, a recovering alcoholic who has no memory of the attack, told her trial: "I did not want this charge against my wife to come up today. I'm the reason she's sitting in the dock."

He said: "I was an alcoholic for years and it's clear to me that my behaviour caused us a lot of grief."

"I can't remember the incident, but I don't believe she attacked me. I think it was a struggle,"

Family friend Ann Hepburn,61, said she had known Fullerton since she was a teenager, but said her behaviour had changed after her marriage and the couple's subsequent move to Westhill.

She said: "She strove to be a perfect housewife and a perfect hostess. She was very focused on homemaking."

She said that Fullerton had "a short fuse" and could fly into a temper quite quickly.

The court also heard that Mrs Fullerton had spent most of her life battling mental illness.

On Tuesday, Ms Prais said her client was full of remorse for what she had done to her husband, who was now recovering from his own addiction.

She added: "She is clearly remorseful for her actions. She has gone through her life with her significant mental health problems. She has made various attempts on her own life.

"However, my client and her husband are addressing the issues in their lives. He has achieved sobriety. They are couple who are clearly and deeply in love. I therefore propose an alternative to custody in this case.

"The matter can be dealt with by imposing an alternative sentence to custody."

Lord Ericht also said that he was persuaded to deal with the case by imposing a non custodial disposal because of Mrs Fullerton's mental health issues.

He added: "It was clear from the evidence at the trial that you suffer from mental health difficulties: the attempt to murder your husband took place during an attempt by you to commit suicide and you have made other suicide attempts both before and since. Since the incident you have begun to receive medical treatment for those difficulties.

"I asked for a report from a psychiatrist to give me some more information about your mental health and the risk you pose to others.

"The psychiatrist states that you suffer from a mental disorder, specifically mental illness which has been characterised as adjustment reaction.

"Your mental disorder is treatable and is alleviated by medical treatment in the form of counselling, structured nursing support and medication.

"On the issue of risk the psychiatrist notes that the offence occurred within the context of an apparent matrimonial argument surrounding your husband's drinking.

"He states that should your husband's current abstinence be maintained this is unlikely to be a point of conflict in the future.

"He also states that it is unlikely that you would behave in a violent manner towards anyone else."

Both Mr and Mrs Fullerton, who came to court with a large suitcase, declined to comment as they both left court.