A man who repeatedly attacked his wife with an ice axe at their home, leaving her with a fractured skull, has been given a four-year jail term.
Daniel Christian Holden, 55, called the ambulance service just before 7.30am on July 5 2024, following an incident at the guesthouse they ran in Keswick.
Holden told a call handler: “I’ve attacked my wife. She’s very badly injured.”
He had struck her three times in the head with an ice axe, with a pick at on end and a blade at the other. This left her bleeding heavily and struggling to speak.
A guest at the property had heard raised voices in the hours before the attack.
Prosecutor Tim Evans told Carlisle Crown Court a neighbour then heard shouting which stopped when there was a thump and the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
Holden told the first police officer to arrive at the scene she might drop dead at any second.
He described in the aftermath how the weapon went right through her skull, also telling police: “I actually meant to murder her”; “I think I made a big mistake”; and “I’ve been mentally quite unwell”.
On leaving the address, Holden told his wife: “I’m going to jail. I’m so sorry. I love you.”
The woman described being attacked by her husband after he called her to a bedroom and sat her on a bed.
She was taken initially to Carlisle’s Cumberland Infirmary but then transferred to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle due to the severity of her injuries.
She had suffered a fractured skull and brain bruising, but had since made a successful recovery and was intending to return to work a a therapist.
Holden was described as being delusional and paranoid during the months before his attack, and anxious about undiagnosed health problems.
His wife told police she was aware of him previously drinking, taking drugs and not working. She told police she didn’t want to press charges or get him into trouble, instead saying she wanted him to receive professional help.
Holden, initially charged with attempted murder, admitted the lesser alternative offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was sentenced at the crown court this afternoon, when Judge Nicholas Barker revealed Holden’s wife had written him a letter, pleading for mercy.
Judge Barker also considered detailed background information including what he said was a helpful, thoughtful and balanced report from a psychiatrist who had spoken of a challenging assessment of Holden.
“I do accept, Daniel Holden, that you are deeply remorseful for your actions,” the judge told him as he passed sentence.
But Judge Barker said of the attack: “Within your mental state there was a premeditation to your actions. This was not an off-the-cuff, spontaneous event.”
