Crying man jailed over attack that left wife paralysed

Michael Jackson was given a two-year sentence after his wife, Jean, 64, suffered a serious head injury which has meant she is still in hospital more than three months later.

York Crown Court heard Mrs Jackson regularly fails to recognise her own daughter and doctors have likened her condition to a major stroke.

The couple, who married nearly 15 years ago, began having a row at a beer festival on May 1 in the North Yorkshire village of East Ayton. Jackson poured a pint of beer over his wife, before storming out and leaving her to make her own way home.

The court heard Jackson then had a momentary loss of self-control, lashed out at his wife and she fell – but despite bleeding from her head, he did not call for an ambulance. He later claimed his wife had told him “not to make a fuss” but when her condition deteriorated, he called her sister rather than the emergency services.

She finally called paramedics and Mrs Jackson was taken to Scarborough Hospital. Scans found she had life-threatening bleeding to the brain and she was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary for surgery.

She remains in hospital unable to communicate, paralysed down the left side of her body and is fed through a tube in her stomach. She requires round-the-clock care and is unlikely ever to recover fully.

Jackson, 57, who wept as details of his wife’s injuries were read out, admitted at an earlier hearing a charge of wounding and was jailed on Wednesday.

Ruth Cranidge, defending, read a letter out from Jackson in which he claimed he committed an “absolutely heinous act” against his wife and best friend who he “loves dearly”. He also admitted he prays daily in the hope she will recover.

After the sentencing, Mrs Jackson’s daughter, Kristine Gilbank, claimed “nothing can ever compensate” for the injuries her mother has suffered and added: “We only hope that today’s outcome will act as a deterrent to any future perpetrators of domestic violence. We would not want any other family to suffer the way we have.”