Stepfather Sentenced After Knife Attack on Stepson

A 68-year-old man has been handed a suspended sentence after a violent altercation with his stepson that left the victim with PTSD and requiring stitches. 🔪⚖️

Peter Jones, of Station Terrace, Brithdir, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm during an incident at a Caerphilly home on June 12, 2022.

The court heard that Jason Oliver had visited home after his mother suffered a stroke. While Mr Oliver had driven to see his mother in hospital, Jones felt aggrieved when his stepson had not offered to drive him to visit as well.

During an argument between the pair, Jones took a knife in his hands and began moving towards Mr Oliver, eventually lunging at him with the blade. The victim attempted to push Jones away but suffered a laceration to his left thumb caused by the knife.

After Mr Oliver shouted at the defendant to drop the weapon and called police, Jones directed a homophobic slur towards his stepson regarding his sexuality.

Medical examination revealed Mr Oliver suffered a deep one-inch wound to his thumb which required five stitches.

In his victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Jason Howell, Mr Oliver said: “I have been caused a great deal of stress. My mother is no longer in a relationship with Jones and I have wiped him out of my life. I’ve had really bad dreams relating to the incident and I’ve had to go to the doctors for something to help me sleep. I’ve had dreams about knives and I have been diagnosed with PTSD. I wake up at night startled thinking Peter was in the house… Due to the incident happening with a knife with a wooden handle, I have issues with knives of a similar style. I have removed all knives of this style from my house. I’ve had angry outbursts which have affected my work in the entertainment industry.”

Jones later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm. The court noted he was of previous good character. In mitigation, Adam Sharp told the court his client had been in a relationship and married to the victim’s mother for almost 30 years, though they have now separated. The defence barrister explained that Jones felt he had been “excluded” from offering support and care to his wife whilst she was in hospital due to lack of transport, and was suffering from depression at the time.

Judge Shomon Khan sentenced Jones to 36 weeks imprisonment suspended for 12 months and ordered the defendant to complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.