Woman jailed for 10 years for stabbing man who called her 'fit'
A woman has been jailed for more than 10 years for stabbing a man outside a pub – minutes after he told her she was "fit".
Marie Watton had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs when she took exception to a chat-up line made by Jonathan Barras in the Duke of York pub in Telford.
She left the pub and went to a friend's house to search for a knife before returning to stab him.
A single blow from her caused a six-inch deep wound, cutting through his liver, kidney and small bowel and causing a collapsed lung. He required emergency surgery to save his life at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire in Stoke-on-Trent.
After the attack Watton met her friends and told them what she had done – even miming how and where she had stabbed him. They spent the rest of the night watching DVDs and listening to music together.
Watton also hid the weapon and put her bloodstained jacket in an unoccupied bedsit near her own flat before it was discovered by police.
She was today starting a sentence of 10 years and nine months in prison after pleading guilty to wounding with intent at a hearing in November.
See also: Victim lucky to be alive
The court heard Watton had been drinking vodka and had taken amphetamines before going to the pub that evening, January 16 last year. A brawl involving Mr Barras and her friends broke out inside the pub and continued in the smoking area.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard yesterday that after Mr Barras drew blood by headbutting one of Watton's friends she said "I'll have him" and went to a friend's house to look for a knife.
Watton, 26, of Trench Road, Telford, ran back and intercepted Mr Barras and one of his friends on Trench Road, where she carried out the stabbing.
She will serve half the sentence in custody and the rest out on licence.
But Judge Robin Onions said a requirement of her period on licence will be to undergo regular testing for alcohol and drugs.
He said the initial violence had been sparked by Watton's reaction to Mr Barras's comment.
"He said 'you're fit'. I imagine it was meant as a compliment," he said.
"It does not seem to be a comment that anyone in possession of their faculties would say was aggressive or insulting."
Chat-up line attacker's victim was lucky to survive - See your Weekend Shropshire Star
