A man has been jailed for a Christmas Day knife attack on the mother of his child.
Barry Payne lashed out in jealousy after waking from a nap and finding his ex-partner with a male friend, a court heard.
While his 17-month-old son slept upstairs, Payne punched the woman and held a knife to her head.
Kim Kennedy, mitigating, said although the couple were not an item at the time, in his drunken state Payne may have thought the victim was still his girlfriend when he saw her sitting with another man.
Mr Kennedy said 30-year-old Payne was also still haunted by the memory of a friend shooting himself in front of him and has suffered with depression.
Payne, of Alexandra Road, Colchester, was jailed for four months for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and seven days, to run concurrently, for criminal damage, which he caused punching a door during the attack. He admitted both charges.
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Published Monday, February 28, 2005
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