A MAN who tried to slash his partner’s face with a blade at their Carlisle home has been jailed for 32 months.
The city’s crown court heard this morning (MON) how violence flared, in the early hours of April 29, at the Scotby Close address into which Marian Uciu, 37, and his partner Nicoleta Costea had moved only days earlier.
During a party at the address, Uciu went upstairs and found Miss Costea texting another man with whom she had been having an affair. After grabbing the phone and punching her in the face, drink-fuelled factory worker Uciu threatened to kill her before he pulled a lock knife from his pocket and “went to strike her face”.
As Miss Costea lifted her hands in self-defence, she received superficial cuts to her cheek and hand which had left her “bleeding quite profusely”. Miss Costea then fled he property after escaping through a kitchen window, her partner having locked the front door.
Uciu – initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder – later admitted unlawfully and maliciously wounding Miss Costea, and making threats to kill her.
Paul Tweddle, for Romanian national Uciu, described the “potentially once in a lifetime” incident as “out of character” and “unlikely to be repeated”. Miss Costea had stated she wished to continue their relationship.
Judge James Adkin jailed Uciu for 32 months, saying: “I have no doubt that the complainant in this suffered significant distress.”
Detective Constable Andrew Metcalfe said: “This was a horrendous ordeal for the victim and Uciu now has plenty of time in prison to reflect on the violence of his actions.
“We hope the fact Uciu has received a jail sentence today acts as a deterrent to anyone out there tempted to carry a knife or use one to carry out crime.
“Fortunately, in Cumbria we do not have a specific knife crime culture and we continue to see a lower number of incidents than in other areas of the UK.
“However, we take the issue extremely serious.
“Any use of knives as part of criminality will not be tolerated.
“Our officers are also committed to tackling all types of domestic abuse, prosecuting those responsible and working with partner agencies to support victims and survivors.
“We would like to thank the witnesses in the case for their help and the Crown Prosecution Service for their hard work.
“The initial police response was fast and effective, enabling this man to be prosecuted, leading to the sentence handed out today.”
