Harborne stabbing: Woman jailed for killing boyfriend Published duration 10 September 2019

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow was jailed for 18 years after being found guilty of manslaughter

A woman has been jailed for 18 years for stabbing her boyfriend to death.

Gary Cunningham, 29, was stabbed 12 times with a kitchen knife and bled to death on 23 February in Harborne, Birmingham

Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 26, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Sentencing her at Birmingham Crown Court, Simon Drew QC described their relationship as "volatile".

"You made allegations of physical and sexual assaults against you of a very serious nature," he said.

"You alleged he raped you and you had no recollection of how he came to die. I do not accept these sexual allegations."

Labinjo-Halcrow, of Frensham Way, refused to give full evidence in the trial and Judge Drew said he was satisfied she was "prone to exaggeration and lies".

Before killing Mr Cunningham, Judge Drew said Labinjo-Halcrow had "consumed large quantities of alcohol".

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Gary Cunningham was pronounced dead at the scene earlier this year

Prosecutor Kate Bex QC told the court there was a history of domestic violence between the couple, who had an on and off relationship for years.

"As to who was worse or who received the worst injuries the prosecution are not in a position to ascribe that level of detail," she said.

On the night of the stabbing, a delivery driver discovered the body of Mr Cunningham, from Northfield, lying in a top floor corridor of a shared property in Frensham Way.

Police conducted checks in the block and found Labinjo-Halcrow in one of the flats.

image caption Police were called to Frensham Way in Harborne in February

A blood-stained knife was found in her kitchen sink and a post-mortem examination revealed Mr Cunningham died as a result of a stab wound to his left leg, police said.

Labinjo-Halcrow's barrister Ali Bajwa QC said: "The effect on the defendant is going to be terrible.

"She had no memory of the events. The knife was simply left on the kitchen sink."

Related Topics Harborne

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