Feuding couple in court after lolly jar stabbing

File photo / NZH

A Taranaki couple who live in the same house but are not on speaking terms played out their turbulent love story in court yesterday.

Margaret Russell, 67, and Morris Leathart of Waitara have been together for about 12 years but have rarely spoken in two years and sleep in separate rooms.

She is facing charges of intent to cause grievous bodily harm after allegedly stabbing Mr Leathart with a lolly jar on April 4 last year, the Taranaki Daily News reported.

She denied the charges and said she never meant to wound him - only wanting him "to shut up and go to sleep".

She admitted smashing a jar but said the glass had splintered, and her partner ended up with wounds only because he was "flailing his arms around".

He was yelling at her to get out of the house that night and go to her sister's, she said.

Crown prosecutor Andrew Britton said she told four people that night she wanted to kill him, and had stabbed him with the broken jar.

Mr Leathart said she came into his bedroom yelling, broke the lolly jar and stabbed at him about five times.

"She was stabbing me with it, aiming it at my face. I threw my arms up to defend myself and got out the side of the bed."

He told a New Plymouth District Court jury he spent all day outside with the chooks, coming in only for his dinner at 6pm, which Ms Russell would promptly throw in the bin if he was late.

It was his habit to drink homemade spirits in the afternoon, then head to bed after dinner as "Maggie became argumentative...and could be quite aggro at times".

Ms Russell had been drinking what he thought was whisky that evening in April, Mr Leathart said.

He was not boozed more than usual that night but his partner would say he was always boozed, he said.

The couple travelled to court together, gave evidence against each other, then left for home together.

The trial was expected to finish today.

- NZPA