Mother-of-one who attacked a disabled woman with a Black+Decker electric drill in neighbour war sparked by ‘inappropriate’ Facebook message is jailed for five years
- Ex care worker Jade Kent, 31, launched attack on her Manchester neighbour
- Disabled victim Amy Hardman, 39, was left with cuts to her skull and her arm
A mother-of-one attempted to drill a hole in a disabled woman’s head with a Black+Decker power tool after neighbours’ feud dramatically escalated.
Former care worker Jade Kent, 31, burst into the home of 39-year old Amy Hardman then held her down in a chair in her dining room before ramming the tool against her skull shouting: ‘I’m going to f****** kill you.’
The victim – who is disabled with arthritis and uses a mobility scooter – tried to get away from her attacker but sustained multiple cuts to her to skull and a slice to her left arm before Kent ran off.
Miss Hardman’s 13-year old daughter was alerted by her mother’s screams for help but was forced to cower in her bedroom as she was too terrified to intervene.
Police who later arrested Kent at her home in Abbey Hey, Gorton, Manchester discovered she had fitted a screwdriver bit in the cordless drill which she then used to assault Miss Hardman.
Former care worker Jade Kent, 31, launched a drill attack on disabled Manchester neighbour
Kent had a previous conviction for battery and racially aggravated threatening behaviour dating back to when she was a youth.
She had been wanting revenge after her young daughter aged seven was the recipient of ‘inappropriate’ messaging from the eight year old nephew of Miss Hardman’s boyfriend.
At Manchester Crown Court, Kent was jailed for five years and four months and made subject of an indefinite restraining order banning her from contacting Miss Hardman after she admitted causing grievous bodily harm with intent and aggravated burglary. Her not guilty plea to attempted murder was accepted by the prosecution.
The incident occurred on May 29 last year after Kent was blamed for various incidents of anti-social behaviour in the area including her throwing paint over an abandoned Audi car and drunkenly screaming in the street late at night.
Geoff Whelan prosecuting said: ‘At 11am Amy’s partner Stephen Burns took their French bulldog for a walk with his eight year old nephew. They came across the defendant who got into argument with him over a text the nephew had sent to her daughter some months previously. She called the boy a “f****** little nonce” but Mr Burns pointed out that his nephew was just eight years old and told her to go home.
‘The defendant did indeed go home but just six minutes later she was seen running down the street carrying something in her hand and then entering Amy’s home.
Kent was jailed for five years and four months and subject of an indefinite restraining order
‘Amy heard the door bang open as it though it had been kicked in and the defendant forced her way in. Amy shouted: “what’s going on?” and the defendant was stood in the hallway looking directly at her with a “crazed look” on her face.
‘She was brandishing a power tool saying: ‘Have you seen this drill?’ and then forced the drill against the back of Amy’s head just behind her ear.
‘Amy was terrified and she thought she was going to die.’
Kent eventually fled the property carrying the drill in her right hand leaving Amy screaming for help whilst lying in a pool of blood.
The victim was taken to Manchester Royal Infirmary for treatment including a 4cm laceration to her scalp, a 4cm abrasion to her neck, and a 2cm area of skin loss around her arm.
She also underwent a CT scan over fears she might have sustained brain injuries.
Police arrested Kent at her home where she was said to be distressed and was heard repeatedly crying: ‘I’m sorry’.
She gave no comment in police interview. Officers found the drill back in its case and the screwdriver bit on the floor.
Mrs Hardman who is now scarred for life said she would be moving out of the area due to harrowing flashbacks of the assault.
‘This attack did not end when Jade left my house,’ she said in a statement. ‘Every time I look in the mirror now I am reminded of what she did to me. I did absolutely nothing to deserve scarring on my body. The pain and shock of these physical wounds were bad enough at the time but the permanent scars serve as a constant reminder of a violent and unprovoked attack in my own home.
‘The physical injuries are one thing but mental impact on both myself and my daughter has been unbearable. For months I was unable to enter the dining room of my own home as it invoked too strong a memory of what happened that day. Whenever I did go in there, I would have flashbacks and suffer panic attacks because I cannot rationalise what happened to me in that room on that day.’
Kent had a previous conviction for battery and racially aggravated threatening behaviour dating back to when she was a youth.
In mitigation defence counsel Miss Rachel Shenton said: ‘This was a moment of madness and a loss of control. Immediately afterwards she expressed remorse and regret in the strongest possible terms and was saying: ‘I’m sorry’ about ten times as she was being arrested.
‘She says binge drinking is an issue for her and she accepts she is loud in drink. She did not even know Miss Hardman but she had a dispute with Mr Burns relating to his young nephew who sent inappropriate voice notes to Miss Kent’s daughter. This was raised with Mr Burns and he dealt with it appropriately but there was a further argument about it on this particular day.’
Sentencing Kent, Judge Nicholas Dean KC told her: ‘You behaviour was inexcusable and horrific. You attacked a woman with her own vulnerabilities for no reason at all other than that you had wound yourself up as a consequence of your encounter with Mr Burns and your concerns about his nephew.
‘The photographs of Amy’s injuries are shocking to behold. You made a complete mess of her using the drill in the way that you did. This attack could have proved deadly.’
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