A homeless woman has been jailed for 15 months after permanently blinding her friend in one eye by throwing a mug at his face whilst he made tea. 😔
Samantha Beattie, 51, had been invited to live with the victim and his mother after becoming homeless. On 12th January, she entered the kitchen and accused him of stalking her on social media before hurling a ceramic mug into the side of his face.
The attack left the victim with five separate lacerations where the mug smashed, including cuts to his cheek, eyelid, and directly into his eyeball. Surgeons had to remove ceramic shards from his wounds.
Prosecutor Caitlin Brazel told Swansea Crown Court that blood streamed down the victim’s face as he screamed “My eye”. Shockingly, Beattie then began mocking him as he knelt wounded, asking “What are you crying about?”
The victim and his mother barricaded themselves in a room before calling an ambulance. He was taken to Singleton Hospital where doctors confirmed permanent loss of vision in that eye.
Beattie was arrested after being spotted running down Cross Park in Pennar. She claimed self-defence and alleged the victim had punched her, despite showing no injuries herself.
Defence solicitor Hannah George said Beattie had been diagnosed with schizophrenia at the time, though the defendant rejected this diagnosis. She described the attack as “out of character” for someone with no previous convictions.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said: “It was an unprovoked attack. When you were told by him that you had damaged his eye, you mocked him. Instead of feeling in any way sorry for him, you showed no remorse whatsoever.”
Before sentencing, Beattie – appearing via video link from prison – shouted “That’s b*******” and stormed out of the room.
She was jailed for 15 months and the victim was granted a five-year restraining order. ⚖️
