Man attacked sister with knife in Sunday lunch row

A man who attacked his sister with a knife and bit her on the face after an argument about who should cook the Sunday roast has been jailed for two years.

Damian Hunter, 39, from Scarborough, assaulted his sister at her home in Cromwell Terrace in South Cliff on 9 November last year, York Crown Court heard.

The court heard Hunter, who has psychiatric issues, had an alter ego and that it may have been the fictional "Veronica" who carried out the attack.

Hunter was jailed on Tuesday, having previously admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and threatening a person with a knife in a private place.

Prosecutor Eleanor Durdy told the court how on 9 November Hunter suggested having a roast dinner with his sister and her ex-boyfriend but had become aggressive.

"On the way back (Hunter) became argumentative about who was going to cook the roast," Durdy said.

When they returned to the house in Cromwell Terrace, Hunter started drinking vodka and began shouting at his sister and her ex.

When his sister asked him to be quiet, he jumped on her, pushed her to the floor and bit her on the cheek, threatening to stab her, the court heard.

She managed to escape outside and was sat on the front doorstep with a friend where she called police.

But then Hunter appeared again, this time clutching a 6in (15cm) knife and walking towards her friend. As he did so, the victim went back inside and locked the front door.

However, Hunter managed to get back inside through the unlocked back door, where he threw his sister to the ground and pushed her head into the floor with one hand, while brandishing the knife in the other.

When police arrived, Hunter was still on top of his sister on the kitchen floor while wielding the knife, the court was told.

One officer told Hunter to drop the knife, but he refused and walked "directly" towards them clutching the blade.

Officers had to use a Taser gun to subdue Hunter and arrest him.

Prosecutor Durdy told the court Hunter had 62 previous offences including robbery, aggravated burglary, assaulting a police officer and carrying a knife in public.

In a statement read out by the prosecution, his sister said she was frightened by the incident but that her brother had serious mental health problems which stemmed from a family tragedy three years ago.

She said he had developed a "second personality in his head called Veronica" whom he believed was his wife and for whom he bought gifts. He had also taken to wearing women's clothing.

She said that "Veronica behaves very differently to my brother" and could be "incredibly nasty" to others.

"I do believe that on the day he assaulted me, 'Veronica' was in control of his actions," she added.

Passing sentence Judge Simon Hickey said it had been a "determined and prolonged assault" fuelled by drink and drugs.

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