An Australian woman who stabbed her elderly mother 48 times with a kitchen knife because she complained her lamb chops were undercooked should be spared a jail sentence, the judge hearing the case said on Monday.
Julie Smith (49) pleaded guilty to intentionally causing serious injury to her 71-year-old mother Barbara Smith last January in the Melbourne suburban home the two women shared.
The court heard how Smith smashed a tray over the head of her mother, a bed-ridden invalid, and stabbed her 48 times with a bread knife after the elderly woman complained the lamb chops her daughter had prepared for her were not cooked enough.
The mother survived the attack. Victorian Supreme Court judge Justice Bernard Teague told a pre-sentencing hearing on Monday that he believed Smith should not
receive an immediate jail sentence but be released to receive counselling, the Australian Associated Press reported.
A lawyer for the defendant told the court his client was terrified of her mother but had ended up being her full-time carer.
He said Julie Smith snapped under the weight of fear, stress and anxiety.
The hearing continues. – Sapa