Mum avoids jail after throwing knife at man who 'pinched her and asked for sex'
Mum Angelika Struckaja, 29, was freed from prison after she threw a knife twice at a man, and caught him in the leg, after he 'pinched her and asked for sex'
A mum who threw a knife at a man in the street after he "pinched her and asked for sex" has avoided prison. Angelika Struckaja, 29, had been with a companion at the time, and launched the blade as their drinking session broke out into violence.
The mum had told a probation officer that the man hit her, causing her to fall into a TV stand, after she refused his advances for sex. Struckaja had been at her home with complainant Erdzsan Sabulov, according to charge sheets, in Birkdale on April 29. Liverpool Crown Court heard that CCTV footage from a home across the street showed the man running away from the mum's home.
The video then saw Stuckaja, wearing pink clothing, going after him and throwing a knife at him. She picked up the knife from the ground and hurled it at him for a second time, Liverpool Echo reports.
This weapon was said to have hit him in the leg at some point during the ordeal. The footage then shockingly showed Sabulov grabbing the knife and launching it back at the mum.
Stuckaja, assisted by a Lithuanian interpreter, appeared with no legal representation but told the court she was "worried about her child" in the case that she was sent to prison. The mum had been remanded in custody since her appearance before magistrates on May 1, and appeared in court via video link.
She admitted unlawful wounding and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place, and was handed a suspended prison sentence. During sentencing, Judge Anil Murray said: "I am going to sentence you on the basis that what you say about the background is true. This was a dangerous weapon. This was impulsive, short lived and in excessive self-defence. It is aggravated by your record."
The judge added: "You had a difficult childhood. Your father was in and out of prison. Your step father was violent. The father of your son was violent to you. The pre-sentence report postulates that your reaction was an excessive trauma response.
"That is why it would be unjust to pass a prison sentence. You have a good work ethic. Your mother died last year. This was a one-off in drink. You have had a difficult time in prison." The judge warned that if she breached her order, "I will have to send you to prison".
The court was told Struckaja had a previous conviction for "similar behaviour" in 2020. She had been convicted of unlawful wounding and possession of a bladed article in a public place after stabbed a man in the back - and also avoided jail on that occasion, as she was due to give birth within days of her sentencing.
The court in this case heard he "made a comment of a sexual nature" to the then 24-year-old outside the block of flats on Scarisbrick Street in Southport where she lived on August 22, 2019. Witnesses then saw her "come running out of her flat with a large kitchen knife in her hand" five minutes later.
The heavily pregnant woman left him with a "small but deep puncture wound" and she was handed a suspended prison sentence.
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Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. He outlined in his own statement how Brenda Jones, his partner of 16 years, passed away only three months later in November due to the "shock and sadness" of her daughter's death. 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North Wales Live
a day ago
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