A furious mother brandished a steak knife outside her ex-partner’s residence and demanded his new companion to come out for a confrontation.
Natalie Ricketts, aged 42, arrived at the property of her former partner, Stephen Balnaves, after her 16-year-old daughter reported an assault by him.
This incident unfolded on St Annes Grove, Birkenhead, on January 11 of this year.
Dressed in a black Mickey Mouse tracksuit, Ricketts was captured on video knocking on a window and pointing the knife at Balnaves’ girlfriend while the other woman yelled from inside the house.
Ricketts admitted to having a knife and creating a scene, and she appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on August 21 for sentencing.
Balnaves, who attended court the day prior, pleaded guilty to causing harm under section 20 and received a suspended sentence of nine months in prison, with two years’ probation.
During the proceedings, prosecutor Simran Garcha stated: ‘Ricketts armed herself with a steak knife, demanding to see Balnaves, who was not present at the residence at that time.’
‘Ricketts displayed hostile gestures and banged on the windows with the knife. She spat on a window and was heard shouting, “tell her to come out. I’ll confront her woman to woman, no weapons involved,”‘ added Garcha.
Masking her face with her hand, Ricketts wept as the footage played in court, where Balnaves’ girlfriend could be heard telling authorities: ‘She has a knife. My partner is returning, he’s her ex.’
‘You must dispatch someone because she intends to harm him… You must act quickly as my partner is on his way back from school with our child.’
She was also heard shouting at Ricketts: ‘You will be detained, you will be detained!’ and ‘A knife! A knife! A knife! In the presence of our child!’
It was recounted in court that Ricketts armed herself with the knife after her daughter informed her on social media of her father’s assault.
Balnaves explained to the police that there was a scuffle with his daughter following an argument about her messy room, but he didn’t think much of it until Ricketts showed up.
The confrontation concluded with Balnaves returning from a school run, alerted by his 14-year-old stepson about the situation.
He used a large branch to strike Ricketts, causing her to fall and hit her head.
He proceeded to kick her while she was on the ground, subsequently leading to his arrest at the scene and Ricketts being taken to the hospital. She was later apprehended after medical treatment.
Ms. Garcha remarked: ‘She acknowledged possessing the knife and waving it around. She couldn’t explain her actions but seemed distressed and apologetic.’
Defending Ricketts, Paul Davidson stated that she was a single mother of three with a clean criminal record.
Judge Simon Medland commented: ‘Your relationship with Stephen Balnaves had deteriorated to a point where you acted in an entirely unacceptable and violent manner. While I acknowledge that most of the chaos emanated from inside the house, you made the choice to go to that address with a knife and brandish it.’
‘As a mature woman with no prior convictions, this fact is in your favor, as is your guilty plea. In my opinion, considering the circumstances of the case and your personal mitigation, a community order is the appropriate sentencing measure.’
Ricketts was sentenced to an 18-month community order, with 20 days of rehabilitation, and a curfew with an electronic tag.
To contact our news team, email us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For further stories like this, visit our news page.
