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A man who stabbed his estranged wife 19 times while their daughter tried to save her has been handed a jail sentence of 16 years and eight months.

The girl, aged 12, repeatedly kicked 40-year-old Peter McCartney as he launched his attack in the victim's home, Newry Crown Court heard.

She described how her father's eyes "were dead, like a shark".

She said he "didn't flinch' when attacking her mother on November 2020.

The defence contended that McCartney, from Newry but with an address given as c/o Maghaberry prison, had been suffering from a psychosis at the time which impaired his judgement.

Judge Gordon Kerr KC said that given his record for violence, coupled with the facts and background of the case, "to suggest that this man does not present a significant risk of serious harm to the public offends common sense".

"I consider this to be an appalling case," the judge said. "It's hard to imagine a worse case of its type."

Judge Kerr said that although he could have imposed a discretionary life sentence, it was his view that an extended custodial sentence was adequate to protect the public.

Life-saving intervention

The sentence means that rather than being automatically freed at the half-way point, McCartney's potential release will be a matter for parole commissioners.

If he is still considered dangerous, he may not be freed until he has served the full sentence.

On the day his trial was due to start last November, McCartney admitted attempting to murder his estranged wife on 7 November 2020.

The judge said that there had been a "history of domestic violence" by the defendant and at the time, he was on bail for assaulting his wife.

The couple's four children were in the house when McCartney arrived.

Their 12-year-old daughter heard her parents arguing and came out of her room, to be confronted by McCartney standing over her mother.

"She kicked him in the face three times to protect her mother but he continued to stab her and didn't flinch," the judge said.

The girl ran for help to the house of a neighbour trained in first aid, whose "interventions saved her life", the court heard.

19 stab wounds

The victim sustained 19 stab wounds. She was initially taken to Daisy Hill Hospital before being transferred to the intensive care unit at the RVH where she spent a month under sedation and on a mechanical ventilator.

Doctors described "deep, penetrating wounds" that "would have proved fatal" without emergency surgical intervention, the court heard.

In addition to her physical injuries, the victim has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and experiences "terrible nightmares", the judge said.

Shortly after the attack, McCartney was found hiding in a neighbour's garden.

Police enquiries established he had scouted out his hiding place a week before.

'Pre-planning and premeditation'

The court heard that McCartney had taken a knife from his flat and walked the two miles to the victim's home before launching his attack.

Judge Kerr said the clear pre-planning and premeditation were aggravating features, as was McCartney's previous record for violence including attacks on the victim.

The judge said that had McCartney not pleaded guilty, he would have imposed a 20-year sentence.

In addition to the jail sentence, the judge imposed a life-long restraining order.