THUG REPEATEDLY STABBED EX-PARTNER WITH KITCHEN SCISSORS AFTER BREAKING INTO HER GATESHEAD HOME
A violent offender repeatedly assaulted his ex-partner with kitchen scissors after forcibly entering her residence.Philip Rutherford breached her home by throwing a garden table through the window and then climbing inside.
At Newcastle Crown Court, it was revealed that the 35-year-old man punched, kicked, and pulled the woman into the kitchen by her feet.
When he reached for a knife, she managed to seize it first, leading to a struggle over the blade.
Prosecutor Emma Dowling explained: "He took kitchen scissors as a weapon and stabbed her approximately ten times.
The injuries included hits to her back, chest, face, and arms." She further stated that the woman’s eight-year-old daughter was present during the attack and managed to escape through a nearby window in Gateshead.
Rutherford then released the bleeding victim and left her to flee her home.
The woman suffered puncture wounds on her right arm and eyebrow, alongside bruising and swelling on her jaw and cheek.
Though she has scars, she did not sustain any broken bones.
She expressed in a victim impact statement that she no longer feels safe in her own home and is frightened by what Rutherford was capable of doing.
Dowling noted that the incident was extremely traumatic for her, as she believed Rutherford, given his past behavior and previous threats to kill her, might have intended to kill her at that moment.
She was also worried for her daughter’s safety.
The court was told that after the assault, Rutherford attempted to steal two cars on Wallace Gardens, Leam Lane, while wielding a broken wine bottle.
The first vehicle contained an elderly woman, her daughter, and her 11-year-old grandson.
He targeted the vehicle first, pointing the bottle at the mother and threatening, "Give me your car, give me your car, I’m not messing around.
I’ve just killed someone this morning.
I’m not joking." Then, he leaned toward the driver — the grandmother — with the bottle dangerously close to her neck, touching her skin.
She refused to surrender her car and managed to drive away.
In her statement, she recounted: "The bottle was so close I felt the jagged edges touch my neck and I froze.
I still see his eyes staring through the window whenever I close my eyes." Later, Rutherford attempted to open the door of another woman’s car while she was inside with her five-year-old daughter.
Recognizing him, she locked the doors.
Dowling stated: "He tried to open the car but was unsuccessful.
He was holding a broken bottle.
It appeared he wanted to steal the vehicle." The court also noted Rutherford's past, including a two-year prison sentence for strangulation, stalking, and making threats to kill his former partner.
Despite their ongoing contact during his incarceration, they decided not to reunite after he was released in November last year.
She told him she was seeing someone else, which may have contributed to his subsequent violence.
Leading up to the attack on December 8 last year, Rutherford had begun abusing drugs and alcohol.
In her victim statement, the woman expressed her shock, saying: "I never imagined he would inflict further violence upon me." When detained by authorities, Rutherford insulted her, calling her a "s***" and a "grass." She added that he threatened to stab her in the neck again and wished her dead, showing no remorse for his actions.
Rutherford, from Hamilton Court, Gateshead, pleaded guilty to counts of aggravated burglary, two attempted robberies, and possession of an offensive weapon.
His sentencing was delivered via video link from Durham prison.
Judge Edward Bindloss indicated that Rutherford had shown no remorse and was considered a danger.
He sentenced him to 11 years and three months in prison, with an additional five years on licence, totaling 16 years and three months.
Rutherford will need to serve at least two-thirds of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
