Woman who stabbed partner gets suspended sentence

A woman who stabbed her partner following an argument has been given a suspended sentence.

Nathalie Micallef, 31, was jailed for one year suspended for three years after she stabbed Brian Pace in a fit of rage, perforating the abdominal cavity and hitting his internal organs.

Mr Pace had punched her in the back.

The two had three children but a troubled relationship. They had broken up and had new partners.

On June 30, 2009, the two argued at their Msida apartment and Mr Pace punched Ms Micallef in her back. She went to the kitchen and warned him not to follow her as she would use a knife.

He ignored her and followed her into the kitchen. She stabbed him once in the stomach, called an ambulance and accompanied him to hospital.

The defence lawyers argued that Ms Micallef had no other choice but to stab Mr Pace out of self-defence because he was drunk.

However, Magistrate Doreen Clarke noted that the evidence did not support claims that Mr Pace was drunk. In fact, he was fully aware of what had happened – even when he arrived in hospital.

Ms Micallef had also told the police that she got extremely angry because he hit her. “But now that I’m not longer angry, I’m very sorry for what happened,” she said.

Magistrate Clarke noted that Ms Micallef had every chance to leave the apartment if she truly felt her life was in danger. Instead, in a moment of anger and not fear, she went to the kitchen to get a knife and stab him.

In handing down judgement, she took into consideration that Ms Micallef had a clean criminal record and that Mr Pace had requested not to testify against her.