An enraged mum waved a steak knife outside her ex-boyfriend’s home and ordered his new partner to come out and ‘fight with her woman-to-woman’.
Natalie Ricketts, 42, turned up outside the home of her former partner, Stephen Balnaves, after her 16-year-old daughter said he had assaulted her.
The incident occurred on St Annes Grove, Birkenhead, on January 11 this year.
Ricketts, dressed in a black Mickey Mouse tracksuit, was caught on camera banging on a window and pointing the knife at Balnaves’ girlfriend as the other woman screamed at her from inside the house.
Ricketts pleaded guilty to possession of a knife and affray, and appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today, August 21, for sentence.
Balnaves, who appeared in court yesterday, pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding, and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years.
Prosecutor Simran Garcha said: ‘Ricketts armed herself with a steak knife. She banged at the address demanding to see Balnaves, who was not present at the property at the time.
‘Ricketts proceeded to gesticulate aggressively with her arms and bang on the windows with the knife. At one point she spat on one of the windows. She was heard to shout words to the effect of “tell her to come out. I’ll have a fight with her woman to woman, no weapons involved”.’
Ricketts covered her face with her hand and cried as the video was played to the court, in which Balnaves’ girlfriend could be heard telling police: ‘She’s got a knife. My man’s on the way back, he’s her ex-partner.
‘You need to send someone because she’s going to stab him…. You need to send someone because my partner’s on his way back from school with my baby.’
She could also be heard shouting at Ricketts: ‘You’re getting f***ing sectioned, you’re getting sectioned!’ and ‘A knife! A knife! A knife! With my baby!’
The court heard Ricketts had armed herself with the blade after her 16-year-old daughter told her on social media that her dad had attacked her.
Balnaves later told police he had scuffled with his daughter after rowing with her about her untidy bedroom, but he ‘thought nothing of it’ until Ricketts arrived at their house.
The incident came to an end after Balnaves returned from a school run, having been warned of the situation by his 14-year-old stepson.
He armed himself with a large branch, which he used to batter Ricketts, causing her to fall and hit her head.
He then kicked her as she lay injured on the ground. Balnaves was arrested at the scene, while Ricketts was taken to hospital. After treatment, she was also arrested.
Ms Garcha said: ‘She accepted she was in possession of a knife and was waving it around. She didn’t know why she had done this but appeared distressed and remorseful.’
Paul Davidson, defending, said Ricketts was a single mum of three children, with no previous convictions.
Judge Simon Medland said: ‘Your relationship with Stephen Balnaves had got itself into a state where you behaved in a completely unacceptable and violent way, and while I accept that most of the commotion came from inside the house, you have taken the time to go to that address with the knife and waved it around.
‘You’re a mature woman with no previous convictions. That stands in good credit, as indeed does your guilty plea. In my judgement, bearing in mind the facts of the case, your personal mitigation, this is a case for which the proper sentence is a community order.’
He sentenced Ricketts to an 18 month community order, 20 rehabilitation days, and a tag curfew.
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