Farmer attacked by wife after 'stressful' divorce

A farmer's wife who attacked her estranged husband with a lump hammer due to "stressful" divorce proceedings has been jailed for four years and nine months.

Pamela Teasdale, 70, was sentenced at Teesside Crown Court earlier for wounding with intent and later stalking Daniel Teasdale, 75, while on bail.

The attack took place at Burne Farm in Todwick, near Rotherham, on 21 August 2023, while the pair were embroiled in legal battles over their divorce and the ownership of a cottage on their land.

Judge Francis Laird said that she had hit him seven times on the head in their marital home with "intent to cause injury" as Mr Teasdale watched television.

He added: "I do note it happened in the stressful context of a divorce."

Pamela Teasdale had previously pleaded guilty to both the wounding and stalking charges.

Prosecutor Laura Marshall said Mr Teasdale, who married the defendant in 1974, had arrived home on the day of the incident and was watching television in the kitchen.

He suddenly "felt like he'd had a shock" as his wife approached him from behind and started hitting him on the head with the hammer.

He managed to grab the hammer from her and left the house before making his way to their daughter Rebecca Carter's home nearby.

Mrs Carter's converted barn, Cow House, was the subject of an ownership dispute between her parents during the divorce proceedings.

The court heard Mr Teasdale's grandchild was the first person to see him with his injuries and she found her mother to tell her: "Grandad's bleeding".

Mr Teasdale then told his daughter: "She's hit me with the hammer, she's mad, she's trying to kill me."

The court heard Pamela Teasdale fled the scene but did not realise her car had a tracker on it and she was located near Rotherham.

Police found her in a semi-unconscious state after taking a suspected overdose.

She was taken to hospital and remained unconscious until the following day, when she was then arrested.

She was released on bail but was arrested again on 5 May 2024 on suspicion of stalking when Mr Teasdale spotted her in a car taking photos of him as he worked on the farm.

Ms Marshall added: "She said in her police interviews that she did not know he would be there."

The pair built a life on the farm with their two daughters during their 40-year marriage, as the land had been in Mr Teasdale's family for three generations.

But in 2018, they filed for divorce and agreed to both still live in the farmhouse during proceedings.

Daughter Penelope Smith read a statement on behalf of her father in which he described the impact of the assault.

He said: "After I was released from hospital I went back into the kitchen in the house and just thought about how lucky I was to be alive."

He added that he feared having to sell the farm due to losing "so much money over this".

He said: "I've lost money as I've had to pay contractors to do work that I now can't do, I have spent £9,000 on CCTV after the attack, and I had to pay Pamela £800,000 upfront as part of our £1.8m divorce settlement.

"This incident will affect me for the rest of my life."

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