Thug left her victim with horror injuries after slashing her in neck with broken bottle in taxi row – but avoids jail
A THUG left her victim with horror injuries after she slashed her in the neck with a broken bottle in a row over a taxi.
Sharnice Summer was within just 2mm of killing Bethany Lockyer when she attacked her outside a pub.
The 32-year-old had stolen a pre-booked taxi from the 28-year-old as she waited in the street with her family and friends in Poole, Dorset.
Summer refused to leave the cab – even when asked by the driver – before rowing with Bethany.
She left the taxi clutching a bottle in each hand and smashed one against the wall causing it to shatter.
The thug then slashed Bethany in the neck with the jagged weapon.
Summer, who has 13 previous convictions for 25 offences including violent attacks, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm.
Despite her rap sheet, she was spared jail and instead handed a two-year sentence suspended for two years.
Speaking about the soft verdict, Bethany said: “The ambulance crew said if it had been two millimetres to the left I would have been dead. That was terrifying.
“She messaged me on the day of court case calling me a liar and said she had never stabbed me.
“I’m not happy about the sentence, she has been allowed to walk free while I was left for dead. It doesn’t feel like it’s enough.”
Bournemouth Crown Court was told the horror unfolded on March 1 last year following a night at the Churchill pub.
Charles Gabb, prosecuting, said: “The defendant, with a bottle of drink in each hand, started to antagonise members of the group. She was described as bolshy. She was told to go away and didn’t.
“She broke one of the bottles against the wall, selected one of the pieces of bottle and, using it as a very dangerous weapon, went for them as if to stab them.
“You can see just how close [the cut] must have been to the jugular. It was an 8cm long cut requiring stitches. It is not an exaggeration to say Miss Lockyer was extremely lucky.”
The court heard Bethany ran screaming into the pub as blood gushed from her neck before passing out.
Her sister-in-law saved her life by stemming the blood flow with tea towels.
Pictures show a huge wound across Bethany’s neck with blood splattered on her clothing.
In a victim impact statement, Bethany said the horror had triggered her existing PTSD and brought back old anxieties, which has caused her to avoid crowds and limit socialising.
She said: “I can’t cope with having to look at the scar every day. It is horrible and a constant reminder. Because it’s on my neck I am always being asked about what happened.”
Rachel Bailey, defending, said Summer’s evening had been “fraught with emotional issues” following a run-in with an ex and losing her mobile phone.
She said the thug “felt outnumbered” and had put her arms up to defend herself but did not “appreciate there was a glass shard in her hands”.
The lawyer added: “She does express sincere remorse. It was never intentional. Miss Lockyer had never deserved any of this.”
As well as a suspended sentence, Summer was placed on a tagged curfew between 7pm and 7am and ordered her to pay £1,500 compensation.
Judge Stephen Climie said: “The picking up of a piece of glass and waving it around in such circumstances was so dangerous, you could easily have killed somebody and you nearly did.
“The injury is an injury we commonly see coupled with a charge of murder or manslaughter.
“The appropriate punishment for street violence is almost always immediate custody. I am just persuaded there’s a sufficient prospect of rehabilitation to keep your liberty today, but if there is any breach of this order you will be serving the two years in prison.”