A jury has ruled that a Colchester woman who was arrested after an eight-hour stand-off with the police had wounded two ten-year-old children with a knife.
Ann Marie McEvoy, 40, of Church Walk, Colchester, was charged with two counts of wounding with intent after being arrested in November 2022 in Friskney, Lincolnshire.
Her victims had suffered multiple stab wounds and needed hospital treatment.
McEvoy was found to be unfit to stand trial or enter a plea due to mental health difficulties.
Following the psychological evaluation, she did not attend the so-called fact-finding trial, which started on Monday, June 24, at Lincoln Crown Court.
On the first day of the trial, the court heard from a number of witnesses, including Lincolnshire Police officers, who attended the scene from November 29-30.
The court was also shown body-worn camera footage of the encounters between McEvoy and police officers, including her attempt to launch a knife at an officer who tried to gain entry to the address
On the second day, further witnesses took the stand, including Det Con Stuart Donnelly, of Lincolnshire Police.
He gave details about McEvoy's arrest, which took place in the early hours of November 30 after an armed police unit had forced entry into the property.
The court saw footage from Det Con Donnelly’s body-worn camera of him holding on to McEvoy, asking her to stay “nice and calm”.
“We are trying to help you,” he said, before asking if she was hurt or injured.
McEvoy was taken to another bedroom at the property after her arrest, where she told police officers that the knife was in the other room.
“It is in there,” she said in the footage, pointing towards the other side of the hall.
Police later recovered a large kitchen knife with a wooden handle and red splashes on the blade. Images of it were shown in court from police photographs taken at the scene.
The court was also shown footage of interviews with the young victims, giving their accounts of the events.
Summarising the evidence, His Honour Judge Simon Hirst told the jury McEvoy was unfit to plead and unable to participate in the trial, but that should not be held against her.
Michael Cranmer Brown, prosecuting, referred back to the footage shown in court in his closing statement.
He said: “The defendant had a knife about her person. The defence invites you to say the same knife was later recovered from the bedroom.
“It is obvious, she was the person stabbing the [victims] in this tragic case."
Mark Knowles, defending, said: “There is no suggestion the knife has been taken to the address for any particular purpose.
“The Crown needs to prove their case. You would have thought if they were saying that is the knife, we will test it. If that is the blood, we will test it.”
He said there was no forensic evidence linking McEvoy to the knife.
The jury unanimously found McEvoy carried out both acts she was charged with, but it does not amount to a criminal conviction.
Sentencing was adjourned for reports.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here