Woman who stabbed man to death jailed for 17 years
A woman who murdered a man she was in a relationship with by stabbing him twice in the chest has been sentenced to a minimum of 17 years in jail.
Bailey Heywood, 23, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at Oxford Crown Court for killing Dale Bond at his flat in Mullein Road, Bicester, on 13 March.
Judge Ian Pringle KC said his starting sentence was 23 years, but he had taken her age and the fact that she had no previous convictions into account.
Heywood claimed she had acted in self defence, but the judge said the motive for her actions remained unclear.
The court heard that Mr Bond, 45, and Heywood "both drank a great deal".
Mr Bond had two children with his estranged wife Emma Bond, who was shaking, crying and had to stop several times during her witness statement.
She said her whole family had been given "a life sentence" by Heywood's actions.
Mrs Bond added that none of her sons, one of whom is autistic, were coping with the death of their father and were having nightmares.
Mr Bond's father said in a statement he initially thought his son had committed suicide, and could not believe there had been a murder investigation.
Heywood's barrister said she was "a repeat self harmer over many years".
Det Ch Insp Will Crowther, from Thames Valley Police's major crimes unit, said the investigation "did not find any evidence to support that this was a case of self-defence".
He said: "We may never know Heywood’s motive for viciously stabbing Mr Bond, an act which is all the more surprising, when he was apparently someone she cared for and was in a relationship with."
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