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24
Feb
Man who struck wife over the head with iron boot jack at Knaresborough home jailed
A man who struck his wife with an iron boot jack at their home near Knaresborough has today (February 24) been jailed.
North Yorkshire Police officers found James Blundell’s wife covered in blood after he attacked her at their Goldsborough home on November 24, 2024.
Blundell’s wife, Carleen, begged him to call an ambulance following the assault that day. When he eventually called the ambulance service, he told the operator:
It’s my wife, we’ve had an argument, we had a fight, I’ve hurt her. It’s my fault, she’s injured, we need the police and we need an ambulance now.
When police arrived, they found Blundell at the front door as his wife lay in the hallway seriously injured.
He was arrested and taken into custody, where he later told police:
There is no excuse for what I have done… I’ve injured someone potentially fatally I have been with for 28 years.
Carleen told police an argument ensued that day, during which Blundell, now of Southport, hit his wife in the face and twice struck her in the head with an iron boot jack.
Carleen fell to floor and landed “awkwardly” on her knee, which tore her knee cartilage.
Blundell was subsequently charged with wounding with intent and admitted the offence on January 21.
In a victim personal statement read to the court, Carleen said:
The incident has affected me in many ways. When it happened, I was petrified. I had got used to my husband’s rages and violent episodes over the years, but this was the worst it had ever been. I thought I was going to die. It was the first time I had felt that way. I felt powerless. In the days following the incident I felt disbelief. I was in shock that it had happened.
He was handed a 30-month prison sentence at York Crown Court and made subject to a five-year restraining order.
‘I see myself as a survivor, not a victim’
Speaking after the sentencing, Carleen told police she wants to use the ordeal to help others.
She said:
I am living a completely different life, and I see myself as a survivor, not a victim. My aim now is to support others, and spread the word that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and there are positive outcomes.
I have learned from this process that the police are extremely well-versed in these cases, and they are a real lifeline.
Like so many people, I was frightened to reach out for help – but in the end it was taken out of my hands.
Detective constable Abigail Garford said it was clear Carleen was struggling both mentally and physically in the aftermath of the attack.
“She hadn’t known life without her abuser for 28 years, and the prospect of rebuilding her life was overwhelming”, DC Garford added.
However, DC Garford also said thanks to her family, medical professionals and her “own grit and determination” she now has a new-found sense of freedom:
Carleen has worked extremely hard to reconstruct her life. With the help of her sons and medical professionals, and her own grit and determination, she now has a new perspective on life. She feels a sense of freedom, happiness and gratitude. She deserves nothing less.
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