A pensioner stabbed her daughter in the neck while she was sleeping in her bedroom, a jury has found.
Chitrani Mahendiran, 74, of Watson Road, Llandaff North, Cardiff , was alleged to have unlawfully wounded her daughter on January 29 this year.
A jury unanimously found the defendant had committed the alleged act of unlawful wounding after a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard how the defendant, who was not present in court and had no previous convictions, was certified by psychiatrists and ruled by Judge Paul Thomas QC on a previous occasion as being unfit to stand trial.
"I felt like a really hard punch in my neck"
The first witness to be called was the defendant’s daughter, Kumari Mahendiran, who confirmed that she and her sister had planned for their mother to go to Sri Lanka, where she was originally from.
After staying up late while reading the night before the incident while staying with her mother, Ms Mahendiran woke on January 29 to find her mother sitting on her bed and moving her hair away from around her neck.
Ms Mahendiran said she was told to go back to sleep before being woken twice more by her mother.
On the third occasion she was awoken by what felt like a punch to the neck – close to her wind pipe – with her mother standing near her holding a steak knife, the court heard.
The steak knife was later swabbed and found to have the defendant’s daughter’s blood on it.
Ms Mahendiran said: “I felt like a really hard punch in my neck. That’s what it felt like.
“I touched my neck. I was really shocked and confused. I felt really faint.”
"I still want mum to have her pride after all of this"
The witness said she left the bedroom and went downstairs, while bleeding, with her mother following her and still holding the knife, wanting to discuss what they would tell the police.
Ms Mahendiran said she couldn’t unlock her phone because of the blood on her hands and when she managed to find her keys she went into the street to get help after disarming her mother.
A passing schoolgirl called the emergency services and Ms Mahendiran added that she spotted her mother at the end of the street staring at her.
Nia Davies, who lives around the corner, told the court she saw two girls in the street when she was packing her car up to go away.
When she saw the injuries she took them into her home and gave the defendant’s daughter tea towels to try and stop the bleeding before emergency services arrived.
Mrs Davies said: “She was holding her neck and she had a lot of blood on the neck area.
“[Ms Mahendiran] said that she’d only gone to stay with her mum the night before to look after her but had woken up to her mum in the bedroom attacking her with a knife.”
The defendant’s daughter was taken to hospital and received treatment for a 1cm laceration to her neck area, which was 0.5cm deep.
A victim impact statement, read out in court by prosecutor Michael Jones, read: “My mum stabbed me to my neck. As time has gone on it’s sunk in.
“I do miss my mum. I never wanted mum to go to prison, just for her to get help.
“I still want mum to have her pride after all of this.”
The next hearing, for sentencing, is set to take place on September 9.
see-http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/mum-stabbed-daughter-neck-steak-11662677
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