Man cleared of stabbing (From York Press)

Christopher Donaldson cleared of stabbing his partner

9:24am Wednesday 22nd August 2012 in News By Dan Bean, dan.bean@thepress.co.uk

A MAN has been cleared of stabbing his partner as she lay in bed following an argument.

The jury in the trial of Christopher Donaldson yesterday heard the 999 call from his partner, 60-year-old Jean Baker, after she was wounded.

Andrew Dallas, prosecuting, told the jury: “You may think that it’s absolutely apparent when you consider her own evidence that he did this.”

But Nicholas Barker, for Donaldson, told the jury they had to consider whether there was any doubt that his client had stabbed Ms Baker, and if there was doubt, to return the verdict that he was not responsible for the injury.

After deliberating for about 30 minutes, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty.

In the 999 call, when asked by an ambulance service operator what the problem was, Ms Baker told her: “He’s just stabbed me in my stomach love, and I’m bleeding to death.”

The court heard Donaldson, 48, of Brackenhill Close, Selby , and Ms Baker had been arguing loudly enough for their neighbours to hear in the hours leading up to the incident at about 6.30am on Friday, March 9.

The jury was also shown a police interview with Ms Baker, 60, made in hospital after she had undergone surgery.

She told officers she had been asleep until Donaldson entered the bedroom, took the covers off her and said “you’ve been asking for this”, before allegedly plunging a 20.5cm kitchen knife into her abdomen.

During the 999 call, Donaldson could be heard screaming expletives, calling Ms Baker a liar, and shouting “you’ve pushed it too far this time”, before emergency services arrived.

Donaldson did not appear at court, as he was remanded to a psychiatric unit, because doctors believed he was unfit to stand trial.

Judge Michael Mettyear told jurors earlier in the week the defendant was “a very, very poorly man, mentally”.