Vengeful woman avoids time in jail

Danielle Norman, 28, goaded her new boyfriend Scott Marshall, 25, into "beating up" her ex-boyfriend, but he went much further and inflicted life-threatening injuries on the victim.

Marshall, of Dodworth, Barnsley was jailed for nine years after he admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on Nicky Bowen, 27, by hitting him at least five times over the head with a garden spade in a public park.

Norman, of Rossington, Doncaster was given an eight-month suspended prison term after admitting conspiracy to occasion actual bodily harm. The prosecution at Sheffield Crown Court accepted that she did not intend the attack to go as far as it did and that she was screaming for Marshall to stop.

Her barrister, Iain Hillis, said she had endured "extremely violent domestic abuse" – both physical and mental – during her relationship with the victim. When they split up he had put her address and telephone number on Facebook, inviting men to have sex with her, which forced her to move house.

Richard Barradell, for Marshall, said Mr Bowen would not accept the relationship was over and made trouble for the new couple, even breaking into Norman's house and stealing Marshall's mobile phone.

He then started sending threatening texts to Marshall, once boasting he would "put him in a box."

Three days later Mr Bowen rang the police and alleged Marshall was beating up Norman, but it was a hoax. After this Norman decided to get her own back on Mr Bowen.

Jeremy Hill-Baker, prosecuting, said Norman arranged to meet Mr Bowen in Rosehill Park, Rawmarsh, on Saturday, April 10 this year. The plan was that Marshall would arrive and beat up her ex-boyfriend.

"She had no intention it would go beyond that," said the prosecutor.

Norman, Marshall and a friend took three buses from Rossington to Rawmarsh and the two women got off the bus early, leaving Marshall on his own.

He asked a group of youths if they had a bat before spotting a spade in a garden and arming himself with it.

When he arrived at the park, Norman and her ex-partner were arguing and she kicked him in the face.

Mr Bowen fell to the ground and at that point Marshall struck him with at least five hard blows on the head. Norman was "hysterical" at the scene and felt she was in some way responsible.

Mr Hill-Baker said: "She told her family she had him killed."

Mr Bowen, who was left semi-conscious, suffered a fractured skull and bleeding into his brain.

The court heard Marshall, who also admitted possessing an offensive weapon, had 36 previous convictions including three for violence. Mr Barradell said Marshall had no idea what he was going to do to Mr Bowen when they met and only picked up the spade at the last minute.

Judge Michael Murphy told Norman she was being sentenced on the basis she intended some harm to the complainant who had "wronged" her in the past.

He accepted she did not intend the level of violence meted out and was prepared to suspend her sentence. "You even screamed for him to stop when you saw what he was doing," he said.

But the judge said Marshall intended to cause very serious injury to Mr Bowen. He told him: "He didn't deserve what happened to him that day and it is simply good fortune that you didn't kill him.

"This was a dreadful attack without any excuse at all."

Norman's eight-month jail term was suspended for two years and she will also have to do 120 hours of community service.