Drunk man cannot remember stabbing wife and sister-in-law, court hears

A warrant has been issued for the arrest of Daniel Marsden. Picture: CHARLOTTE BOND (Image: Charlotte Bond)

Michael Dawson, 35, admitted something must have triggered the act of stabbing the two women at his home following a night out in Felixstowe, but insisted he had “no idea what that trigger was”.

Dawson, of Mill Lane, Felixstowe, has denied wounding his wife Jenny Dawson and sister-in-law Laura Thrower with intent to cause grievous bodily harm but has admitted the less serious section 20 charge of wounding.

Giving evidence from the witness box on the second day of his trial at Ipswich Crown Court, Dawson said he pleaded guilty to the lesser section 20 offence as he wanted to “take responsibility” for what he’d been told he did.

Under cross examination, Dawson was asked whether a comment his wife had made after returning from the night out had sparked the attack.

Gareth Hughes, prosecuting, said: “She [Mrs Dawson] remembers when you got home from the night out saying: ‘I don’t think we’re going to make it through 2020.’ Is that what caused you to snap?”

Dawson replied he did not recall his wife saying that. He later added: “If I could remember I would tell you, Jenny and Laura deserve that.”

Earlier, the court heard from Mrs Thrower, who described the shocking moment she was stabbed by her brother-in-law.

She spoke of the “excruciating pain” she experienced after Dawson stabbed her in the stomach with a kitchen knife.

Mrs Thrower received a single 2.5cm puncture wound to her abdomen shortly after discovering her sister had been stabbed in the neck in her bedroom.

Jurors heard how Mrs Thrower had been babysitting for the couple at their home in Mill Lane while they enjoyed a New Year’s Eve night out.

The court heard Mrs Thrower was awoken by voices and initially got out of bed and went downstairs before hearing her sister again from upstairs.

She told the jury she ran back upstairs and saw Dawson on the landing coming out of the couple’s bedroom.

MORE: Drunk man stabbed wife around 2am on New Year’s Day, court told

Giving evidence, Mrs Thrower told the court: “I said: ‘What’s wrong with Jenny?’ Michael said: ‘Nothing, she’s gone to sleep,’ and shut the door behind him.”

Mrs Thrower then explained how she found her sister in the bedroom “cowered down in a ball” on the floor and saw blood surrounding Mrs Dawson’s head on the carpet.

She then went back downstairs after hearing the front door open and the jangling of car keys to find Dawson in the porch.

“I told him not to go in the car and to get into the kitchen,” Mrs Thrower said.

Asked by Mr Hughes whether Dawson said anything, Mrs Thrower replied: “He said: ‘I’ve got a knife.’”

Mrs Thrower told the jury: “It was just like he went to hug me and put a hand on my shoulder.”

She said only became aware of the knife when Dawson pulled it out and she put her hands over the wound.

“When he pulled it out, I felt a lot of blood coming through my hands, and then excruciating pain,” she added.

Mrs Dawson and a number of children then came out of their bedrooms and were shouting about calling the police.

Mrs Thrower said Dawson then threw the knife towards his wife after seeing her at the top of the stairs before leaving the house.

He then got into his wife’s car and crashed it into a row of trees near a roundabout at the junction of Garrison Lane and Candlet Road.

Dawson had run off but gave himself up shortly afterwards after a dog unit arrived at the scene.

He refused to provide police with a breath specimen.

The court heard how Dawson and his wife had been drinking at their house before going out, but seemed fine and their mood was “nothing out of the ordinary”.

The couple had ended up at The Grand nightclub, where Dawson had been asked to leave around 1am because he had been flailing his arms around and barging into other customers on the dance floor.

The trial is expected to conclude today.