Plymouth man cut woman and assaulted her husband while children were present

A MAN cut a woman with a blade and assaulted her husband in their own home while their children were present, a court heard.

Craig Morrison, aged 26, from Torridge Way, Efford, was found guilty of two charges of assault by beating.

His younger brother, Daniel Morrison, 21 from St Johns Road, Ivybridge also faced magistrates in the same trial but was found not guilty of one charge of assault by beating.

The pair, who had pleaded not guilty to the charges at Plymouth Magistrates Court, were accused of committing the assaults on October 12 last year.

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Magistrates said that after hearing evidence from witnesses they believe Craig Morrison entered the home of Mr and Mrs Hutchinson through the window, went straight into the kitchen and punched Mr Hutchinson in the face in an unprovoked attack.

They said they believe that Mr Hutchinson picked up a bread knife in response to the attack, and did not accept Craig Morrison's evidence that it was self defence.

They then said they believed evidence which suggested that when Mrs Hutchinson asked him to leave, he pushed her back twice.

Craig Morrison suddenly left the property after the second push and Mrs Hutchinson had been cut with a knife – Mr Hutchinson said that he saw the blade in Craig Morrison's hand.

Magistrates said that they did not accept evidence that he was an invited guest and were satisfied "beyond reasonable doubt that he was guilty."

Daniel Morrison was found not guilty of hitting a Mr Newton with a beer bottle on the same evening.

While giving evidence, Mrs Hutchinson had admitted not seeing Daniel Morrison hit Mr Newton, who didn't appear in court to give evidence.

Magistrates could not be sure of the evidence given, with the Chief of the Magistrates Bench saying "We can not be satisfied that you assaulted Mr Newton."

A representative for the Crown Prosecution Service said that there were a number of aggravating features of the case including the location of the offence in the complainants own home, that there were children present, that it was premeditated and that the defendant entered the property with a knife.

Victim impact statements were also read out, in which Mr Hutchinson said: "As a result of this I have had to move my family to a different address and will be moving to a different part of the country."

Mr Hutchinson also said he had been having panic attacks particularly following a comment from the defendant on the night of the incident that "this was just the beginning".

Craig Morrison's defence solicitor requested that a pre-sentence report be put together to take into account a number of personal considerations including Morrison's heart condition.

Craig Morrison has been granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced in Plymouth Magistrates Court on Thursday April 18.