Coventry woman attacked sister with claw hammer over burnt Christmas dinner

Court hears Annette Slevin had killed her brother seven years earlier

A Coventry woman feared she was going to be killed when her sister launched a drunken attack with a claw hammer after accusing her of burning their Christmas dinner.

And her fear was well-founded – because attacker Annette Slevin was on licence at the time from a prison sentence for the manslaughter of their brother seven years earlier.

Slevin, 54, of Bird Grove Court, Leicester Causeway, Coventry, pleaded guilty at Warwick Crown Court to inflicting grievous bodily harm on her sister Carol with intent.

After hearing of the earlier killing of her brother in 2008, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC ruled that she poses a danger to other people in the future, and passed an extended sentence.

He imposed a custodial term of 12 years, of which Slevin will have to serve at least two-thirds before the Parole Board will even consider her release.

She will then be on licence for the rest of the 12-year term and for a further five years, during which time she can be recalled to prison if her behaviour gives cause for concern.

Prosecutor Anthony Potter said Slevin had convictions going back to 1981 for offences of dishonesty, and in December 2009 she was jailed for five years for the manslaughter of her brother Noel Slevin, with a further five years on licence.

So she was still subject to that when she launched her attack on her sister on Christmas Day last year.

Of the attack on Carol, Judge Lockhart said that although the individual injuries were not in themselves serious, the number of them, including multiple bruising and cuts to her eyes and head, amounted to grievous bodily harm.

“It is aggravated by the previous conviction for the manslaughter of her brother in similar circumstances, and by the fact that she was on licence and in drink.

“I am considering a finding of dangerousness, and I also have to consider whether a life sentence is appropriate.”

But Amy Jackson, defending, argued that the injuries in the attack on her sister were not sufficiently serious to warrant a life sentence on Slevin, who she said had been found to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder over Noel’s death.

Jailing Slevin, Judge Lockhart told her the time she had spent on remand will not count towards the sentence because she had been recalled to prison under the terms of her licence.