15 years for violent addict who left knife blade tip embedded in ex-partner's neck

Neighbours found her lying in the hall of her home covered in blood as her partner stood over her with a slash hook in his hand

36-year-old Stephen Rabbitte of Marlborough Rd, Dublin 7, received the jail term in the Central Criminal Court yesterday, and will appear before Galway Circuit Court on March 7 for reactivation of his suspended sentence. Stock picture: Julien Behal

A violent addict who was on a suspended sentence when he tried to murder his then-partner by strangling her in their bed and stabbing her in the neck, leaving the tip of the blade embedded in her spine, has been jailed for 15 years.

Sentencing Stephen Rabbitte, aged 36, at the Central Criminal Court yesterday to 16 years in prison with the final year suspended, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon said the victim had suffered a sustained and violent attack with more than one weapon in her home, a place she was entitled to feel safe. The court heard the woman was also attacked with a slash hook before neighbours came to her aid.